Uniform civil code is the proposal to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in India with a common set governing every citizen. These laws are distinguished from public law and cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance. Article 44 of the Directive Principles in India sets its implementation as duty of the State. All India Muslim Personal Law Board oppose it. Goa has a common family law, thus being the only Indian state to have a uniform civil code. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 permits any citizen to have a civil marriage outside the realm of any specific religious personal law.

 The demand for a uniform civil code was first put forward by women activists in the beginning of the twentieth century.  Till Independence in 1947, a few law reforms were passed to improve the condition of women, especially Hindu widows. In 1956, the Indian Parliament passed Hindu Code Bill amidst significant opposition.

Apart from being an important issue regarding secularism in India, it became one of the most controversial topics in contemporary politics during the Shah Bano case in 1985. The debate then focused on the Muslim Personal Law, which is partially based on the Sharia law and remains unreformed since 1937, permitting unilateral divorce and polygamy in the country. The Bano case made it a politicised public issue focused on identity politics—by means of attacking specific religious minorities versus protecting its cultural identity.

For more than a decade Muslim women activists in India have been demanding a ban on what is known as  triple talaq  or instant divorce.

It is a system wherein a Muslim man can divorce his wife in a matter of minutes.

The issue has been highlighted recently after several Indian Muslims have taken to divorcing their wives by mail, over the phone and even through mobile phone text messages.

The practice of instant divorce is banned in several Islamic countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia.

But it continues in India.

Raising awareness

There have been attempts in the past to focus on the ills of instant divorce.

Article 29 and 30 of our Constitution guarantee all minorities the right to conserve their culture and script ,and run their own educational institutions. It was implied that minorities could follow their religions and abide by their customs and traditions. Presently in India ,believers of various religions can marry, adopt, inherit property and divorce under their own customs as defined under the The Right to Religion, as per the Fundamental Rights enshrined by the Constitution of India. However, there is an anomaly exists in this Articles which makes it a controversial issue in India. At certain cross roads, these Articles intercept another Fundamental Right of the citizens of India, ie  Right to Equality before the Laws of the Land. Hence Article 44 of the Directive Principles of State Policy says, The State shall Endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code through out the territory of India. However, Directive Principles are not justciable or mandatory ,only a guideline.

MAJOR CONFLICTS BETWEEN CIVIL LAWS AND PERSONAL LAWS

Both Laws contradict on issues of Marriage, Adoption, Inheritance of Property and importantly in Divorce. The eye of the storm is about the Special Marriage Act,1954.The Act allows people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrespective of the religion or faith followed by either party, to marry or divorce under it. The only exception is Jammu & Kashmir. A marriage performed under the Special marriage act is a civil contract and, accordingly, does not involve rites and ceremonial requirements.

IS IT A HINDU- MUSLIM ISSUE AS WIDELY DISCUSSED?

Uniform Civil Code is a volatile issue in India, which disturbs the delicate fibres of religious harmony. It encompasses all minorities in India. Parsis, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, apart from ,of course, Hindus and Muslims ,have their own civil codes. While the Muslim Personal Law is yet to be codified (because of deep divisions within the religion),Christian and Parsi Codes were specified before Independence. The Personal Laws of Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and others were codified in the 1950s.

PURPOSE OF UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

The relevance of a Uniform Civil Code is profoundly debatable among all communities, because no nation can mature or progress as a secular country, if few citizens are denied justice under the grab of religion. India, being the largest democracy in the World, it is prudent, if the religious leaders of all communities join hands amicably and iron out all these anomalies at the earliest. Let in the coming year,be the harbinger of peaceful and harmonious co-existence of the people of India.