| UCC step in the right direction. But don’t make it a toothless tiger. .empower the rules and systems to save and strengthen the nation.
As PM Modi announced in the Bhopal Meeting
with BJP karyakartas, his intentions about UCC,
the media and opposition have been active and
abuzz with statements and discussions.
Before that the Law commission has
solicited suggestions from the citizens
which has received overwhelming
response from the masses.
WE have also sent our suggestions as a
responsible think tank and
organization working to
strengthen the nation and
therefore in favour of Uniform
Civil code or UCC.
( pl see below this blog).
Looking at the diversity and
demography of the nation
we are of the opinion
that Uniform Civil Code
is a much needed law / bill
for the country. Diversity
is defined in terms religion,
language, caste, ethnic and
geography broadly
though we can add culture
also to it as its a main
factor differentiating among
people. While we know about
the religious diversity divided
among Hindus,
Muslims, Christian,
Jains, Buddhists and others
primarily we also have
different languages .
For example Dravidian
languages, which are spoken by
20% of Indians, and the
Indo-Aryan languages,
which are spoken by 75% of
Indians. India has the
second-highest number
of languages in the world.
There are more than 3000
jatis, and there isn’t a
single system for
classifying and ranking
them across all of India.
Each Jati has its own
customs and culture which
further adds to the cultural
diversity.
Need for UCC:
It should be clear
to any and even a
class 5 student that
such kind of diversity will
always be a challenge
to any democratic set up.
In India we have given
freedom to
very person as guaranteed
by the constitution.
However this freedom
has been also
exploited by many
and it continues to be.
This has lead to skewed
and biased
development within the country.
Take the marriage act of Muslims
versus other
religions. While a muslim
can marry 4 times and can
give talaq ( under old system)
at the drop of a hat , its not the
case with other religions.
Similarly education though
every religion like Gujarati,
Sikh , Jains and other have their
own schools and
colleges. Madrasas system
are unique in the Muslim religion.
For the emphasis
placed by Madrasas on religious
studies is much more than any
other school and
college run by other religions.
The number of Madrasas in
the country are mind
boggling. According to the
Ministry of Minority Affairs,
India has 24,010
madrasas, of which
4,878 were unrecognised,
in 2018-19. Unofficial sources
claim that Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
alone runs over 20,000 Deobandi
madrasas
in north India while other madrasas
are run by private religious sects.
It’s a common misconception
that only poor families send
their children for madrasa
education. Children from
opulent families can be spotted
in the classrooms of
Jamia Islamia Sanabil Delh
i and Jamia Salafiya Banaras.
An excellent article from ORF
, ” Locating the Madrasas in
the 21st century by Ayjaz Wani,
and Rasheed Kidwai is worth reading (https://www.orfonline.org/research/locating-the-madrasa-in-21st-century-india/). It says. and we quote
“In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror
attacks in the United States (US)
in 2001, researchers, analysts,
and policymakers trained
their eyes on madrasas. Their
initial investigations at the
time found that many Taliban
leaders and Al-Qaeda members
had been radicalised in these
Islamic educational institutions.
In July 2004, a report prepared
by the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the
United States (or the 9-11 Commission)
described madrasas as “incubators
of violent extremism.”.
It did not specifically say,
however, whether any of the
19 individuals who had executed
the 9-11 attacks themselves
attended madrasas for their
education. The following year,
then Secretary of Defence
Donald H. Rumsfeld declared
that madrasas “train people
to be suicide killers and
extremists, violent extremists.”
It simply means that all these
children are debarred of getting
quality education in
Kendriya schools or those
run by state governments
and even private.
The different customs in the
marriage, property, education,
child birth, have been
pushing the country with
social tensions and other
forms of divisiveness, which is
not sustainable and can lead
to other major problems and
issues including a civil war.
Social structure and fabric is
the most important criterion
for any nation to prosper
and stay peacefully. If this
fabric is broken nothing can help.
Conclusion
Unfortunately the country has
been moving in this direction
for the last 7 decades or
so. THe UCC should have
been implemented right
from the independence day in
1947 but may be the leaders
of the time were more idealist
and could never have
thought that such a situation
might arise. They should have
learnt from the great
partition that divided the nation into two, just on the basis of religion and customs.
Any form of skewness and
biased approaches in the
society will always lead to
tensions whether done
deliberately or naturally.
It is also important to understand that
these types of difference
is different from freedom of
expression and other
constitutional acts.
However the government
must bring a strong version
of uniform civil code #ucc and
not a toothless paper that
serves no purpose. There is no
doubt and no second
thought that UCC is a must.
Everyone must support it no matter what religion , caste
or ideology and will be good for one and all and will strengthen the country besides
giving a sense of safety
and security to all.
The government has already made its intentions clear for tabling the UCC bill in the
forthcoming Monsoon session.
Astrologically there are
challenging times from
October to December
when Jupiter goes retrograde.
Both Saturn and Jupiter are at
present in the constellation
of Rahu / Ketu and therefore
poses certain dangers
especially from a communal angle.
Government must be prepared for all
eventualities but must have
strong will to bring the bill
and implement it covering all
important angles.
Thanks
Best Wishes
Dr Asheesh Shah
Samanvaya
samanvaya.org.in
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