Jaipur: A row has broken out over the Rajasthan government’s push to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. The state cabinet cleared the UCC bill on August 13, and it is now set to be tabled in the monsoon session of the assembly beginning August 20. The move has drawn sharp objections from Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Rajasthan.
In a press statement, the organisation’s state president, Mohammad Nazimuddin, said the Muslim community would not accept the UCC in any form. He alleged that imposing a uniform law by setting aside the religious and social systems of the communities concerned would not amount to democratic consensus but a unilateral decision.
Nazimuddin also questioned the process behind drafting the bill. He said that on such a sensitive issue, the concerned communities were not taken into confidence – neither was the full draft of the proposed bill made public, nor was any broad public debate held. He said that merely putting out an online questionnaire seeking yes-or-no answers could not substitute for genuine public consultation.
He further described the public hearings held by the high-level committee at district collectorate offices as inadequate and one-sided. According to him, most of those called to these meetings had little or no information about the UCC, which meant the real concerns and objections of affected communities were not properly represented.
The JIH state president said that equality does not mean mandatory uniformity. He argued that India’s Constitution protects religious freedom, cultural diversity and citizens’ fundamental rights, and that scrapping religious personal laws in the name of social reform could not be justified on constitutional grounds.
JIH Rajasthan has demanded that the state government immediately halt the process of implementing the UCC and not take the proposed bill forward in the assembly. The organisation said that attempting to impose uniformity on personal laws runs counter to the basic spirit of the Constitution and to religious freedom, and could breed insecurity and distrust among different sections of society.
The organisation warned that if the bill is enacted in Rajasthan, it would be opposed strongly through democratic and constitutional means.
