Decoding the Uniform Civil Code
Rehana does not answer her mobile phone when her husband, Akram, calls.
In January this year, Akram threw her out of their house and got married again a month later.
Rehana now lives in constant fear.
"He might say 'talaq' on the phone to me," she says.
"I don't answer my phone when I see his number. I want to spend the remaining years of my life as his wife. I don't want a divorce."
Muslim women's rights activists are outraged by such incidents.
Yes we are talking about the Shariat that allows muslims to have four wives, can give divorce by saying talaq three times and after divorce ex-husband is not responsible for ex-wife's maintenance.
Is the much debated Unifrom Civil Code the answer to the above. This term is very much prevalent in the Constitution of India but only as a Directive Principle, but has not been implemented till now.
There have been quite a few instances in the past where the Supreme Court has directed the ruling government to frame a UCC based on the Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. But this has fallen to deaf ears.
People who support this are the ones who have been affected by the personal law set by various religious bodies. They say this will bring in some uniformity in the way of life. A sikh can actually carry a dagger. On the other hand you could be arrested if you do so.
People against it are the ones who feel that an UCC will invade their private space. And their worse fear is " How uniform will the UCC be !! ". If we are going to let the leaders of today form the UCC then we might as well live without it.
The following is an excerpt from a recent article
"The spine of controversy revolving around UCC has been secularism and the freedom of religion enumerated in the Constitution of India. The preamble of the Constitution states that India is a "secular democratic republic" This means that there is no State religion. A secular State shall not discriminate against anyone on the ground of religion. A State is only concerned with the relation between man and man. It is not concerned with the relation of man with God. It does not mean allowing all religions to be practiced. It means that religion should not interfere with the mundane life of an individual. "
So where is the solution? I believe each religion should actually have a relook at the laws that it lays for personal life and bring about changes to accomodate the changing midset of the 21st century individuals. And how can the common man help? He must broaden his sphere of thinking to be able to take in the best practices from various religions. He must be able to adopt it as a way of life rather than follow it cos the State is asking him to.
Otherwise the misery of people like Rehana will only increase...........
In January this year, Akram threw her out of their house and got married again a month later.
Rehana now lives in constant fear.
"He might say 'talaq' on the phone to me," she says.
"I don't answer my phone when I see his number. I want to spend the remaining years of my life as his wife. I don't want a divorce."
Muslim women's rights activists are outraged by such incidents.
Yes we are talking about the Shariat that allows muslims to have four wives, can give divorce by saying talaq three times and after divorce ex-husband is not responsible for ex-wife's maintenance.
Is the much debated Unifrom Civil Code the answer to the above. This term is very much prevalent in the Constitution of India but only as a Directive Principle, but has not been implemented till now.
There have been quite a few instances in the past where the Supreme Court has directed the ruling government to frame a UCC based on the Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. But this has fallen to deaf ears.
People who support this are the ones who have been affected by the personal law set by various religious bodies. They say this will bring in some uniformity in the way of life. A sikh can actually carry a dagger. On the other hand you could be arrested if you do so.
People against it are the ones who feel that an UCC will invade their private space. And their worse fear is " How uniform will the UCC be !! ". If we are going to let the leaders of today form the UCC then we might as well live without it.
The following is an excerpt from a recent article
"The spine of controversy revolving around UCC has been secularism and the freedom of religion enumerated in the Constitution of India. The preamble of the Constitution states that India is a "secular democratic republic" This means that there is no State religion. A secular State shall not discriminate against anyone on the ground of religion. A State is only concerned with the relation between man and man. It is not concerned with the relation of man with God. It does not mean allowing all religions to be practiced. It means that religion should not interfere with the mundane life of an individual. "
So where is the solution? I believe each religion should actually have a relook at the laws that it lays for personal life and bring about changes to accomodate the changing midset of the 21st century individuals. And how can the common man help? He must broaden his sphere of thinking to be able to take in the best practices from various religions. He must be able to adopt it as a way of life rather than follow it cos the State is asking him to.
Otherwise the misery of people like Rehana will only increase...........
posted by Sriniketh S at
7:29 PM
1 Comments:
UCC has been in discussion for quite a while now... and the preachers of communism would point this out as an utter failure of democracy... this is where apeasement demon in democracy play and defeat all the efforts to bring in true equality... and u know that true democracy is as well an utopia... well sorry for deviating, but i believe the political setup of india (with multiple parties and vote bank funda) is root cause of all this...
And dude, u surely going the serious way... love to read some of ur slapstick humour... guess u re good with pun and sarcasm... use it generously... i kinda get a heavy feeling of a news paper reporter... We all surely feel strongly about all this, and good that u focus on non-trivial issues... but once in a while including ur own opinion/experience won't harm... just an advice... great going... keep it up!
By
Rupam Bhattacharya, at 12:57 AM
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