Uniform Civil Code 'politically motivated': Adivasis, Mizo people oppose uniformity

By Dr Abhay Kumar*

The call for Uniform Civil Code is politically motivated, Flavia Agnes, eminent scholar and women's rights lawyer has said in an interview with me.
Flavia Agnes has expressed disappointment that while the 21 Law Commission underscored the importance of ending gender discrimination and economic inequality against women, the Government has not taken a single step to implement the 21 Law Commission’s report.
Author of several books on Family Laws, Flavia Agnes has argued that an impression is being created that only Muslims are opposing Uniform Civil Code. However, the reality is that Adivasis and people from Mizoram have strongly spoken against Uniform Civil Code and any uniformity from the top.
Moreover, Flavia Agnes has said that the need of the hour is not to impose uniformity but to work for ending gender discrimination wherever it exists. She has claimed that the imposition of the Uniform Civil Code is against the spirit of federalism.

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*PhD (Modern History), Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

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