UCC targets Muslim identity, undermines diversity: Muslim Personal Law Board
If tribals have been exempted from the UCC, why the same yardstick can't be applied to Muslims too, wondered AIMPLB spokesperson
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Tuesday disapproved the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) after the BJP government in Uttarakhand tabled the UCC Bill, alleging that the proposed legislation targeted the Muslim community’s identity, besides inflicting damage on the country’s diversity.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami tabled the UCC Bill in the state assembly on Tuesday, which seeks to bring uniformity in laws governing marriage, divorce, and inheritance, among other things, across religions. It proposes the banning of practices like polygamy and bringing in a uniform marriage age for citizens from all communities.
Reacting to the move, AIMPLB spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said, “We are opposed to UCC, as it’s against the diversity of the country. This is the country of different religions, culture and different languages and we have accepted that diversity. If you try to implement such a Uniform Civil Code, then you are causing a damage to that diversity.”
Ilyas also opined that the state government was “forcing a majoritarian point of view on everyone”. He alleged that the UCC was drafted considering Hindu religion and was now being imposed on everyone. He wondered if tribals have been exempted from the UCC, why the same yardstick cannot be applied to Muslims too.
‘No need for UCC’
The AIMPLB spokesperson said the UCC Bill’s provisions would clash with the Muslim religious laws or personal laws, which are derived from the holy Quran. Citing Special Marriage Act and Succession Act, he said an “optional Uniform Civil Code” already exists. “Anyone who doesn’t want to get governed by religious laws can get married under Special Marriage Act. When optional UCC is available, then why the state government needs to introduce the new UCC,” he asked.
Ilyas said the BJP government tabled the UCC Bill ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to send out a message that they have fulfilled their UCC promise. He said the AIMPLB’s legal committee was studying the provisions of Uttarakhand’s UCC Bill and that the board will explore options to seek legal remedies as per the advice of this panel.
“As far as UCC is concerned, we are of the opinion that uniformity cannot be brought in each and every law and if you exempt any community from this UCC, how can it be called a uniform code? There was no need for any such uniform civil code,” AIMPLB executive member Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali told ANI.
