What is the 'Uniform Civil Code' that has been promised in the BJP's manifesto?

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) released its election manifesto on April 7, amidst much fuss and furore.

There has since been some discussion over the inclusion of the Uniform Civil Code in the manifesto. The manifesto says, 'BJP believes that there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts a Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draft a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonising them with the modern times'.

For all those who don't know what a Uniform Civil Code is, here's a little insight that might prove to be useful.

What is Uniform Civil Code?
Article 44 of the constitution of India lists Uniform Civil Code as one of the Directive Principles of state policy. Directive Principles of State policy, which comprises the Part IV of the Constitution of India, are guidelines for the State and Central governments to help them in framing laws and policies. However these Directive Principles “shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws”, according to Article 37 of the Constitution which talks about the application of the Principles contained in Part IV.

In India, there are different set of laws for different communities pertaining to personal matters like marriage, divorce, property, adoption, inheritance and maintenance. The Uniform Civil Code implies covering all these personal laws into one unified set of a secular law, that will be applicable for each and every citizen of India irrespective of his/her religious community.

However, in India, Goa is the only state to have implemented the directive principle on the Uniform Civil Code and converted it into a law called the Goa Civil Code or the Goa Family Law.  It is the set of civil laws that governs all the Goans irrespective of the religion or the ethnicity to which they belong

News Source / Sabhaar : http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-what-is-the-uniform-civil-code-that-has-been-promised-in-the-bjp-s-manifesto-1976053
(07.04.2014)

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 समान नागरिकता कानून

मुक्त ज्ञानकोश विकिपीडिया से

समान नागरिकता कानून का अर्थ भारत के सभी नागरिकों के लिए समान नागरिक (सिविल) कानून (विधि) से है। समान नागरिक संहिता एक सेक्युलर (पंथनिरपेक्ष) कानून होता है जो सभी धर्मों के लोगों के लिये समान रूप से लागू होता है। दूसरे शब्दों में, अलग-अलग धर्मों के लिये अलग-अलग सिविल कानून न होना ही 'समान नागरिक संहिता' का मूल भावना है। समान नागरिक कानून से अभिप्राय कानूनों के वैसे समूह से है जो देश के समस्त नागरिकों (चाहे वह किसी धर्म या क्षेत्र से संबंधित हों) पर लागू होता है. यह किसी भी धर्म या जाति के सभी निजी कानूनों से ऊपर होता है. ऐसे कानून विश्व के अधिकतर आधुनिक देशों में लागू हैं.

समान नागरिकता कानून के अंतर्गत

    व्यक्तिगत स्तर
    संपत्ति के अधिग्रहण और संचालन का अधिकार
    विवाह, तलाक और गोद लेना

समान नागरिकता कानून भारत के संबंध में है, जहां भारत का संविधान राज्य के नीति निर्देशक तत्व में सभी नागरिकों को समान नागरिकता कानून सुनिश्चित करने के प्रति प्रतिबद्धता व्यक्त करता है. हालांकि इस तरह का कानून अभी तक लागू नहीं किया जा सका है.

 भारत में अधिकतर निजी कानून धर्म के आधार पर तय किए गए हैं.हिंदू, सिख, जैन और बौद्ध हिंदू विधि के अंतर्गत आते हैं, जबकि मुस्लिम और ईसाई के लिए अपने कानून हैं. मुस्लिमों का कानून शरीअतपर आधारित है; अन्य धार्मिक समुदायों के कानून भारतीय संसद के संविधान पर आधारित हैं.


 Source : Wikipedia Article



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Information Published in Economic Times of India : -

What's a uniform civil code?

The term civil code is used to cover the entire body of laws governing rights relating to property and otherwise in personal matters like marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption and inheritance.

As things stand, there are different laws governing these aspects for different communities in India. Thus, the laws governing inheritance or divorce among Hindus would be different from those pertaining to Muslims or Christians and so on.

The demand for a uniform civil code essentially means unifying all these "personal laws" to have one set of secular laws dealing with these aspects that will apply to all citizens of India irrespective of the community they belong to. Though the exact contours of such a uniform code have not been spelt out, it should presumably incorporate the most modern and progressive aspects of all existing personal laws while discarding those which are retrograde.

What does the Indian Constitution have to say on the subject?

Article 44, which is one of the "directive principles" laid down in the Constitution says: "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." As Article 37 of the Constitution itself makes clear, the directive principles "shall not be enforceable by any court". Nevertheless, they are "fundamental in the governance of the country".

What has the Supreme Court said on the issue?

Very recently, while hearing a case pertaining to whether a Christian has the right to bequeath property to a charity, the court regretted the fact that the state had not yet implemented a uniform civil code. This is not the first time that the apex court has expressed itself in favour of a uniform civil code or taken a dim view of the government's and legislature's inability to bring it into being. There have been other occasions — like during the Shah Bano case and later in the Sarla Mudgal case — where too the apex court has come out strongly in favour of the enactment of a uniform civil code. However, none of these comments are binding on the executive or the legislature and do not amount to orders. At best, they exert some moral pressure on the Indian state to move towards formulating a uniform civil code.

Would a uniform code affect the personal laws of only one community?

Not at all. The perception that a uniform civil code would necessitate changes in only Muslim personal law is quite incorrect. As women's organisations and others have repeatedly pointed out, personal laws governing different communities in India have a common feature — they are all gender-biased.

For instance, the law pertaining to succession among Hindus is unequal in the way it treats men and women. A truly modern, secular, non-discriminatory and progressive code would, therefore, mean changes in all personal laws. The concept of the "Hindu undivided family", at least insofar as it pertains to succession, would also obviously have to undergo a change under a uniform civil code. Similarly, Muslim, Christian and other personal laws too would have to change. This also explains why historically changes in personal law have been resisted not just by one community, but by the ruling orthodoxy in all of them.

What had prevented a uniform civil code from coming into being?

Since it involves a change in laws, an obvious prerequisite is sufficient support for the move within Parliament. The reason this has been difficult to achieve has been because most parties have held the view that the reform of laws pertaining to the personal domain is better done by pressure for such change from within communities rather than as an imposition from above. Further, for historical reasons, the demand for a uniform civil code has acquired communal overtones which have overshadowed the innate merits of the proposal.

To put the delay in perspective, however, it should be added that Article 44 of the Constitution is by no means the only directive principle to have not been implemented more than half a century after it was laid down. Most directive principles continue to remain pious doctrines rather than the law of the land.

News Source : http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2003-07-28/news/27541538_1_uniform-civil-code-personal-laws-sarla-mudgal
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Wikipedia Information :

Uniform civil code of India

Uniform civil code in India is the debate to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in the country, with a common set governing every citizen. These laws are distinguished from public law and cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance. Article 44 of the Directive Principles in India sets the implementation of a uniform civil code throughout the country as duty of the State. Apart from being an important issue regarding secularism in the country, it became one of the most controversial topics in contemporary politics during the Shah Bano case in 1985. In this case, a divorced Muslim woman sought maintenance from her husband. The debate then focused on the Muslim Personal Law, which is partially based on the Sharia law and remains unreformed since 1937, permitting unilateral divorce and polygamy in the country. The demand for it was first put forward by women activists in the beginning of the twentieth century, with the objective of women's rights, equality and secularism. The Bano case made it a politicised public issue focused on identity politics—by means of attacking specific religious minorities versus protecting its cultural identity. The Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janta Party and the Left support it while the Congress Party and All India Muslim Personal Law Board oppose it.

The personal laws were first framed during the British Raj, mainly for the Hindu and Muslim citizens. The Hindu orthodox law discriminated against women by depriving them of inheritance, remarriage and divorce. The British feared opposition from community leaders and refrained from interfering within this domestic sphere. Till Independence in 1947, a few law reforms were passed to improve their condition, especially that of Hindu widows. In 1956, the Indian Parliament passed Hindu Code Bill amidst significant opposition. Though a demand for a uniform civil code was made by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, his supporters and women activists, they had to finally accept the compromise of it being added to the Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution. The Shah Bano case resulted in her being granted maintenance under the All India Criminal Code. Amidst the political debate that followed, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 was passed, which exempted Muslims from the Criminal Code—a setback to family law uniformity.

Source : Wikipedia / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_civil_code_of_India