The rhetoric of the uniform civil code has had a long history in India. One of the guiding principles pertaining to the UCC is that of equality before law and it is a pity that the code is yet to be implemented. However, uniformity, history shows, can be complicated, not simple. Otherwise India would have progressed some way in formulating the UCC that the Constitution makers had hoped for in Article 44. The Supreme Court brought up the issue more than once, but most recently it was the Delhi High Court that reportedly expressed the need for it. Although Indian law is uniform in many civil matters as in the Sale of Goods Act, Indian Contract Act, Indian Evidence Act and so on, marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance can be governed by personal laws that differ among faiths. This raises unnecessary difficulties, felt the Delhi High Court, when sitting on a dispute over a divorce petition of a couple belonging to the Meena community of Rajasthan. The court reportedly felt that society was becoming more ‘homogenous’ with the dissipation of barriers between castes, communities and religions, and that young people getting married across such barriers should not be troubled by personal laws. Even beyond the courts, there exist powerful arguments in favour of a UCC not only because a uniform law in marriage or divorce is the mark of a secular, civilized country, but also because such uniformity would provide security and protection for women, who are most vulnerable under personal laws.
Yet the issue is complicated. Uniformity must be balanced on India’s diversity. Can ‘homogeneity’ be desirable under a government that pushes a majoritarian agenda? Its thrust for ‘oneness’ appears to turn on divisive strategies that make barriers between castes and religions more visible. It would find helpful the Delhi High Court’s direction that its decision be communicated to the ministry of law and justice for appropriate action, because the UCC was one of the three main promises in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto. The other two were the Ram temple and the revocation of Article 370. The BJP’s appropriation of the UCC project has unnerved many who would support it otherwise, even women’s groups which are critical of personal laws. Perceived to be Hindutvavadi and patriarchal, the BJP-led government’s formulation of the UCC may alienate sections of society beyond minority communities. To comply with the Delhi High Court’s suggestion, the government must first cultivate the people’s trust in a good cause if it wishes to disarm popular resistance. That seems distant at the moment.
