THERE does not seem to be unanimity in our secular republic to legislate a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a code which shall cover all aspects of personal laws, uniformly applicable to each and every citizen. Opinions regarding the uniformity of the Code were at one time deeply divided between conservatives and liberals of all hues. It's difficult to locate the Golden Mean. The position has improved because the Supreme Court has been periodically calling for UCC. There is a section of urbane middle-class, call them rationalists or pragmatists, who are confident that a Uniform Civil Code shall work and should be drafted. But this is still a distant dream.
In fact, the Law Commission of India under the Chairmanship of Justice BS Chauhan, former judge of the Supreme Court, wrote a well-researched paper on Family Laws in August 2018 and realized there were many difficulties in writing a UCC.
The need to have a UCC has existed since time immemorial, that is to say, from January 26, 1950, when Article 44 (Article 35 of the Draft Constitution) came into existence requiring “the State to strive to secure for its citizens a Uniform Civil Code”. The best opportunity was probably in 1950 itself, but it was lost in the tumultuous birth pangs of the nation. At that time, it was important to keep our extremely diverse nation united. In the intervening 72 years, not much progress has been achieved because the desired political stability and consensus of opinion has been lacking. Anyhow, it was a great achievement that Hindu laws of marriage, succession, adoption, minority and guardianship were codified in 1955-56, a victory for women's rights and modernity, but it did not help Muslims, Christians, Jews or Parsis.
HISTORY OF PERSONAL LAWS
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