Slugfest over Centre’s push for civil code

The All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and some other Muslim outfits accused the Narendra Modi government of waging a “war against the community and killing the country’s plurality by trying to impose one civil law on all religions.”

They announced on Thursday to boycott a questionnaire put out by India’s Law Commission on a uniform civil code (UCC), and vowed to block any attempt to abolish Islamic family laws, comprising contentious practices such as triple talaq and polygamy.

The opposition by the AIMPLB, a key decision-making body for Muslims, immediately led to an all-out political slugfest as the Congress said a UCC was not possible in a country like India, while other opposition parties, including the JD(U), accused the Centre of trying to polarise the society ahead of crucial state elections. The BJP defended the government’s move, saying a common civil law was a must for a progressive society.

Addressing a press conference, AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Wali Rahmani said the government’s move would paint all in one colour, and lead to social unrest. “It is against the spirit of Indian Constitution, which safeguards the right of citizens to practice their culture and religion,” he said. The Board said that there were “flaws” in the personal laws governing Muslims, and they were being addressed from time to time.

Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind president Arshad Madni, also present at the presser, said that all Muslim organisations and community representatives were one on the issue, and a campaign — starting from Lucknow — would be launched to mobilise support against the government’s move.

The Law Commission on October 7 put out a questionnaire seeking to know whether triple talaq should be abolished, retained or retained with suitable changes. The Commission also sought public opinion on a common civil law to “protect vulnerable groups and harmonise cultural practices.”

The Law Commission’s move coincided with the Centre’s submission in the Supreme Court that triple talaq and polygamy were unconstitutional and should be abolished as women’s dignity was not negotiable.

The unprecedented submission came in response to the AIMPLB’s earlier assertion in the court that any intervention in family law amounts to violating the Muslim community’s fundamental rights.

India’s constitution allows its peoples to be governed by their own religious laws in matters of marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and maintenance. While a Hindu law overhaul began soon after Independence and continues, reforms in Muslim personal law have long been a divisive issue in India with some Muslim women and organisations moving court against triple talaq and polygamy.

On Thursday, Congress leader and former law minister Veerappa Moily said that it was “next to impossible” to implement a common civil law in a country like India where 200-300 personal laws existed.

MIM leader and MP Asaduddin Owaisi said a UCC would kill India’s diversity that also comprises dalits and tribals. He however said his party would respond to the Law Commission’s questionnaire. JD(U) leader Ali Anwar said the government was focusing only on Muslims to polarise the society ahead of state elections.

Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the move should not be seen with a prejudiced mind. “Keep the door of the debate open,” he said. Expectedly, the Shiv Sena backed the government with its leader Sanjay Raut saying that one civil law would help Muslims join the “national mainstream.”