A conference, called to “educate” people on the Indian Civil Code at the Constitution Club, New Delhi, on Saturday, has seen RSS ideologue Indresh Kumar, an ex-Ajmer dargah terror blast accused, tell Muslims that none of them would object to Uniform Civil Code (UCC), claiming it doesn’t “conflict with any of the tenets of Islam” and as “good” for Muslim women.
Those participating included well-known pro-establishment minority personalities, including KJ Alphons (BJP MP, Rajya Sabha), Firoz Bakht Ahmed (chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad), IA Ansari (former chief justice, Patna High Court), ZU Khan (former judge, Allahabad High Court) Zakia Soman (activist), and Khwaja Iftikhar Ahmed (Interfaith Harmony Foundation of India).
Organized by the Bhartiya Matdata Sangathan at the behest of Ashwini Upadhyay, known for POLs on instant Triple Talaq, Polygamy, Nikah Halala marriages among Muslims and Uniform Civil Code, Firoz Bakht Ahmed stated that some of the personal laws and their provisions “are ancient, outdated and inhuman as if from the stone age.” He added, “A parallel judiciary too will be injurious for the Indian paradigm.”
KJ Alphons said that owing to the blessings of the Indian Constitution, now, Christians too were able to give property rights to their women. Upadhyay added, for almost six decades, personal laws were “misused as vote bank by the Congress”, quoting the BJP manifesto to say that “there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts a UCC.”
IA Ansari said that the implementation of UCC will be possible after the draft recommendations were placed in the general domain for attaining final shape, while ZH Khan said that a direction should be given to the Law Commission to draft UCC within three months.
Khwaja Iftikhar Ahmad contended that gender justice and gender equality, guaranteed under Articles 14-15 of the Constitution and dignity of women, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, cannot be secured without implementing the Article 44 (the state shall endeavour to secure for citizens a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) throughout the territory of India).
A resolution to the Prime Minister adopted at the conference said that India "urgently needs a Uniform Civil Code" to promote national integration as well as gender justice, equality and dignity of women, adding, UCC will “better suited for the realities of the contemporary social life, consistent with the values and principles of the Constitution.”
Zakia Soman said, there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts a UCC, while Rikabh Jain, convenor, Bhartiya Matdata Sangathan, insisted, the Centre should constitute a judicial commission or a high-level expert committee to draft UCC taking into account “best practices of all religions and sects.”
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