Why Critics Of Uniform Civil Code Should Come Up With Better Arguments
By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
1 July 2023
Diversity Is A Valid Principle But Not At The Expense Of
Equality
Main Points:
1.
When organizations
like the AIMPLB talk about diversity, it sounds like a joke as they have been
singularly responsible for destroying the inner diversity within Indian
Muslims.
2.
Historically, all
social reform agenda succeeded because it has been supported by the state. Why
should it be any different in the Muslim case?
3.
This is not just
about optics; BJP is an ideological party which has been talking about the UCC
for a very long time.
4.
There is a huge
trust deficit between government and Muslims; all efforts should be made to
bridge this gap.
-----
The talk of a uniform civil code is in the air. From
government leaning TV channels to independent social media handles, everyone is
taking a position on it. As expected, the most vociferous objections to the
proposed move is coming from the Muslim community. Camera crews are going into
Muslim localities, and most of them are saying that they are opposed to the
idea. Some of them claim that the UCC is designed to impose a Hindu code on
Muslims; that they will not be allowed to perform Namaz, etc. This might be
written off as the concern of the ‘non-enlightened’ but even the so-called
enlightened ones are not doing any better. The Muslim Personal Law Board, in a
late-night meeting yesterday, has decided to submit a memorandum of objections
to the law commission.
There is nothing wrong with this; in a democratic society,
everyone has a right to his or her opinion. The problem is that every time the
AIMPLB speaks, it makes whole community look idiotic. Just remember their
submission on the matter of triple Talaq in the supreme court. But there is
more: teachers in Aligarh Muslim University have embarked on their own campaign
to solicit individual condemnation of UCC. After they collect all the
signatures, they intend to send it to the law commission. One shouldn’t really
be surprised about this bonhomie of the clergy with the Muslim intellectual
class. Without this entente, Jinnah wouldn’t have walked away with his Pakistan
so easily.
Joining the chorus have been opposition parties and
intellectuals on the left, whose whole existence is dependent on protecting
orthodoxies within Indian Muslims. Primarily, there are three objections which
they have raised against the UCC, which this article tries to address.
The Issue of Diversity
Critics have argued that UCC will threaten the diversity of
India by replacing it with a uniform system throughout the country. Certainly,
diversity needs to be a valued choice. There are various religious communities
in India who have their own rituals and traditions which are recognized by the
constitution. However, one should not forget that concerns for diversity should
not trump need for equality. And here it is important to underline that when
one is talking about equality, one is also talking about internal equality
within religious communities. Should the concern for maintaining diversity mean
that we disregard the urgent demand of gender equality within the Muslim
community?
Also, in our caste ridden society, diversity often translates
into the consensus of upper castes of different religious groups. The
maintenance of diversity in this context is nothing more than the perpetuation
of the dominance of upper castes. The more pressing need is that of equality by
empowering groups who can challenge casteism and patriarchy.
The celebration of diversity should not be at the expense of
equality. And one should also not forget that when organizations like the
AIMPLB talk about diversity, it sounds like a joke. This largely Deobandi body has
been singularly responsible for destroying the inner diversity within Indian
Muslims. Let us also not forget that it were organizations like them who
counselled Muslims against participation in Hindu festivals. Their new found
love of diversity is nothing but a ruse to not talk about internal democracy
within the Muslim society.
All of a sudden, some Muslims have developed love for
Scheduled Tribes. This is because some tribal organizations have voiced their
dissent against the UCC. The Muslim situation cannot be compared to the tribes.
First, the STs have constitutional protection because of their remoteness and
precarity. They have geographic guarantees of in terms of identity and culture
which their special situation entitles them to. Moreover, one should remember
that gender norms are much more egalitarian amongst the tribes as compared to
caste Muslims or Hindus. The constitutional protection to STs cannot become the
basis for arguing that Muslims also should be given similar exemptions. The
large urban demography of Muslims makes any such comparison with Scheduled
Tribes facile.
Certainly, it is a vexed issue and implementing a UCC might
be more of a challenge in Hindu society. However, that is for the Hindus to
decide and deliberate upon. Unlike Muslims, till now, they haven’t made the
argument that their laws are God given and no power on earth can change
it.
Who Should Do It?
For a very long time, it was argued that Muslims themselves
should come forward to reform their personal laws; that it should not be done
by the state otherwise it will look like an imposition. This argument sounds
very good but it is simplistic and even bogus. A seasoned activist like Flavia
Agnes has done well to remind us that the 21st law commission jettisoned the idea
of UCC in favour of reforming the personal laws. But she forgets to tell us who
will initiate this reform amongst Muslims? She forgets to tell her reading
public that the Muslim clergy, thanks to their hegemony, will never allow even
a discussion to begin on the issue. What options do Muslims have except to look
to the government to bring about such a change?
Historically, demands for social reform have been aligned to
the state. Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwarchand Vidyasagar wouldn’t have succeeded if
the colonial state did not support them. Let us not pretend that the Hindu
society was so liberal that it did not oppose these reforms. But it was only
because of the support of the colonial state that certain laws were put on the
statute books which gave dignity to widows. What is the problem if the Muslims
today are looking towards the state to implement their agenda of social reform?
The Hindu Code Bill was imposed by the state on the people.
It was initiated by the state. The liberal and progressives of the time
supported Nehru and Ambedkar who argued that a nation cannot without replacing
God made laws with man made laws. But the same current of thought is hell bent
on arguing that the state cannot impose its will on Muslims. But they do not
answer a more fundamental question: how does a community progress if its laws
are rooted in a non-modern context?
Moreover, those who argue that the voice of reform should
come from within the community conveniently forget to listen to such voices
when they arise. For the last at least two decades, organizations like the Bharatiya
Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) have been putting forward the grievances of Muslim
women through various forums. Those who are opposing the UCC today were in
power yesterday. But they never heard the voices of the likes of BMMA. They
surrounded themselves with all manners of third rate Ulema, rather than pay any
real attention to the plight of Muslim women.
This Is All About Politics
Critics have also argued that the ruling BJP and the prime
minister are just playing politics to get votes. But what is new in that?
Aren’t all political parties think of votes when making policies? Those
opposing the UCC are also defending their electoral interests, with an eye on
the Muslim vote. The BJP also has electoral calculation when it talks about the
UCC, but with an eye on the Hindu votes. Are we to believe that seeking the
Muslim vote is okay but seeking the Hindu vote is not?
Thinking this issue solely in terms of political optics is
problematic for another reason. We should remember that the BJP is an
ideological party. That apart from caste arithmetic, it has also been
successful because it has created a constituency (primarily Hindu) which is
receptive of its ideas. It promised that it will abrogate Article 370 and it
did. The UCC has long been on its manifesto and one should not be surprised if
it moves ahead and implements it. The fact that the prime minister himself is
pitching for it can only mean that there is some clarity at the highest
echelons of the government.
If, by highlighting the issue of gender discrimination
within Muslim society, the prime minister is appealing to a Hindu vote bank,
then who is blame for this situation? This situation wouldn’t have arisen in
the first place if Muslims themselves would have come forward and demanded a
reform in their personal laws. Or if the so-called progressives of the time had
paid some attention to the plight of Muslim women, reeling under a
discriminatory law, which was supposedly sent by God.
Muslim Insecurity
The average Muslim on the street is insecure about all this
talk of an impending UCC, but is it their fault? They believe what has been
told to them by the Ulema and other intellectuals: that the Muslim Personal Law
is a God given law and any change in it will tantamount to tampering with the
divine will. The responsibility for not educating the masses lies with the
Ulama and Muslim intellectuals who speak in one voice in order to torpedo
voices of reform within the community.
However, it must be said that the insecurity within Muslim
minds has also been created by the ruling dispensation. Just yesterday, in
Bihar, a Muslim truck driver, who was transporting animal bones to a hospital
was lynched on the suspicion that he was carrying beef. This is not a one-off
incident but rather forms of pattern of assault on Muslim livelihoods. Such
reports have come from different parts of the country, most of them from BJP
ruled states. The right to practice religion is one of the fundamental rights
in the country. But we have seen assaults on Muslim right to pray in places
like Gurgaon, Uttarakhand and more recently in Himachal Pradesh. What is more
worrying is the studied silence of government on all such issues, which further
creates suspicion in the minds of Muslims.
It is in this atmosphere of “trust deficiency” that the
prime minister has given his support to the UCC. If Muslims believe that the
move is designed as another attack on their religious rights, then can they
really be blamed? We already have the likes of Owaisis and Madanis, who are
working overtime to convince Muslims that the government is not just
anti-Muslim but also anti-Islam.
Any talk of UCC therefore should be complemented with
governmental efforts at addressing the fears and apprehensions of Muslims.
----
A regular contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is
a writer and researcher on Islam and Muslims in South Asia.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/muslim-critics-uniform-civil-code-ucc/d/130110
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