New Delhi/ Dehradun: Pledging to implement a uniform civil code (UCC) in Uttarakhand if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerges victorious in the assembly polls, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said Saturday that a committee would be formed to draft the code immediately after the new government is sworn in.
As the row over educational institutions barring students from wearing the hijab rages in Karnataka and finds echoes elsewhere — with the BJP viewing it as an international campaign to malign India — a chorus is growing in the party for the implementation of a UCC.
A day before Dhami’s announcement, Union minister Giriraj Singh had told reporters that the hijab controversy was “a disturbing trend aimed at muddling the atmosphere of the country,” and that a UCC was the “need of the hour”.
Dhami said Saturday that the UCC “will provide for the same laws governing marriage, divorce, property, and inheritance for all people, regardless of faith”.
BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya welcomed Dhami’s promise to implement a UCC, saying that Uttarakhand would be “the second state after BJP-ruled Goa to do so”. Goa’s civil code is a legacy of Portuguese colonial law.
Karnataka BJP MP Tejasvi Surya also congratulated Dhami, calling the move “a big step towards fulfilling an important constitutional commitment”.
BJYM congratulates the young & dynamic CM of Uttarakhand Sri @pushkardhami Ji for resolving to introduce UCC in Uttarakhand.
It’s a big step towards fulfilling an important constitutional commitment. pic.twitter.com/Kd1NT0CLQ5
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) February 12, 2022
Surya, while campaigning in Uttarakhand ahead of the election, had raised the slogan, “Uniform civil code ki karo tayyari, aa rahein hain Bhagwa dhari (Be ready for uniform civil code, BJP is coming to power).”
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Conspiracy angle in hijab controversy
Several BJP leaders have characterised the hijab row as part of a conspiracy to defame India — just as they described the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the year-long farmers’ protest against the controversial agriculture laws.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior BJP leader said, “Although it started from coastal Karnataka, where rifts had emerged many times in the past between the two communities, a few people and organisations want to consolidate their position through these incidents.”
“The larger concern is that it’s catching fire in other parts of the country. It can’t be an isolated incident — it looks like part of an organised conspiracy,” he added.
Similarly, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had said Wednesday that some people were giving a “communal colour” to a decision on the dress code, as part of a “conspiracy to defame India’s inclusive culture”.
Harnath Singh Yadav, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, told ThePrint, “Some forces want to turn this country into Afghanistan. The government will not allow such forces to create discord in society.”
Another Sangh Parivar outfit, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, has termed the controversy “hijab jihad”, a “ploy” to spread “jihadi anarchy”, and an attempt to “replicate” Shaheen Bagh — the site of a well–known anti-CAA protest by Muslim women in Delhi — in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, BJP Minority Morcha head Jamal Siddiqui told ThePrint that wearing the hijab, “although it’s part of our culture”, isn’t an essential part of Islam that’s mentioned in the Qur’an — unlike the turban in Sikhism. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has made similar remarks.
“In Islam, co-education is haram (forbidden), but, for the sake of women’s empowerment, we have allowed our girls to study at schools and colleges. We can’t select one part and restrict other parts. We should practice our culture at home, not at school. Wearing the hijab isn’t even prevalent in progressive Muslim countries,” Siddiqui said.
Centre’s cautious approach to UCC
The posited UCC would be a comprehensive set of common laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, and succession. At present, several religions have their own personal laws, although Article 44 of the Constitution states that the “State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.”
The 21st Law Commission in 2018 had concluded that a UCC was neither necessary nor desirable.
However, in March last year, then Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde had praised Goa’s code as “what Constitutional framers envisaged for India – a Uniform Civil Code”.
In November last year, the Allahabad High Court had said that a UCC is a necessity and cannot be made purely voluntary, as observed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
But the Centre has taken a cautious approach to the idea of implementing a UCC. BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Updhayay, through a petition in the Delhi High Court, had sought directions to the government to constitute a judicial commission to draft a UCC.
In its affidavit responding to Upadhyay’s petition this January, the Centre said that it would examine the need for a common civil code and hold consultations with various stakeholders after it receives a report from the Law Commission.
The affidavit said that the 21st Law Commision had conducted detailed research on the matter and uploaded a consultation paper on ‘Reform of Family Law’ in 2018 for further discussion. It further stated, “This is a matter of policy for elected representatives of the people to decide, and no direction can be issued in this regard by the court”.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
Also read: Viral photos, bruised egos, radical student groups: Inside story of Karnataka’s hijab crisis