After the supreme court gave its verdict on triple talaq by banning the evil custom for six months and asking the government to make a new law regarding it, the next big reformation is been seen as the implementation of Universal Civil Code.
Though Modi government does not directly claim to be a reason for the ban on triple talaq, it can be clearly seen that the protest raised by BJP was one of the reasons to put an end to the practice of the system of instant talaq in the Muslim Community. While the entire nation is hailing the verdict announced by Supreme Court finally providing justice and right to equality to Muslim women, all eyes are on the next step taken by the Modi government in the direction of implementing the universal civil code.
Regarding this, The All India Catholic Union (AICU) on 24 Aug said that gender equality is a must but the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) may not be the answer to all problems arising out of the excess of religious and social practices in the country. The AICU represents around 16 million Catholics and claims to be one of the officially recognised bodies of the Catholic laity.
A Law Commission is examining the feasibility of the implementation of UCC and a delegation of AICU also met the commission regarding the same. It also put forth the response to a questionnaire conducted by the union regarding the implementation of the universal civil code. AICU said that “the intended UCC should not be counterproductive to the unity of the nation”. The response presented by the AICU read that “Prime facie, the Law Commission seems to be biting off more than it can chew.” It also argued that “issues of marriage, divorce, adoption, guardianship, maintenance, inheritance in one comprehensive UCC would entail a mammoth exercise.” The union further added, “It seems difficult to evolve one comprehensive code that takes care of the entire range and other contentious issues in an environment aggravated by political, nationalistic, regional and sectarian forces and actors.”
Indicating its disagreement on the implementation of UCC, the union said that “dominating majoritarian and politically strident tone cannot, and should not, be imposed on unwilling sections of the society.” It also suggested the government to pay attention to specific issues that need urgent attention, rather than trying to solve all the problems in just one go.
The response submitted also stated that “gender equality is a must but the UCC is not the answer and codification with the assent of the respective stakeholders would be the more practical option.” The union said, “codification of personal laws is desirable and existing codes also need revision and reform of religious laws and practices is the better and lasting option.”