Good morning one and all present over here.

This is Adyasha Dhal, am here to share my views for the

motion of the given topic, Uniform Civil Code.

The issue of the Uniform Civil Code has emerged into India’s political discourse recently because many
Muslim women, affected adversely by the personal laws, have begun knocking on the doors of the
Supreme Court to uphold their fundamental rights to equality and liberty in keeping with constitutional
provisions. Now let us know about UCC in brief, The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India proposes to
replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in the
country with a common set governing every citizen. The constitution also has a provision for Uniform
Civil Code in Article 44 as a Directive Principle of State Policy which states that “The State shall endeavor
to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” A Uniform Civil Code
would, in theory, provide equal status to all citizens irrespective of the community they belong to.
Personal laws of different religions are widely divergent and there is no consistency in how issues like
marriage, succession and adoption are treated for people belonging to different communities, which
clashes with Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. Reforms to
personal laws have also been inconsistent. For example, multiple amendments have been brought to
Hindu personal laws, while Muslim law has seen fewer changes. Now why India needs Uniform Civil
Code? A secular republic like India needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules
based on religious practices. The rights of women are generally restricted under religious law, be it
Hindu or Muslim. Triple talaq, priority given to men in terms of succession and inheritance are some
examples. Many practices governed by religious tradition are contrary to the fundamental rights
guaranteed in the Indian constitution. Courts have also opined that the government should move
towards a Uniform Civil Code. For example – the Shah Bano case.UCC would make the dream of “One
Nation, One Law” come true. India believes in one nation and hence no community shall claim separate
religious laws. In this way, it’ll promote national integration. 55% of India’s population comprised of
people below 25% years of age. Their social attitudes and aspirations are based on universal principles of
humanity, equality, and modernity. In order to realize their full potential for nation building, their
attitudes and aspirations should be respected.

At last I conclude this by saying, UCC can only emerge through an evolutionary process. Hence major
sensitization efforts are required to reform current personal law reforms which should be first initiated
by the communities themselves. Existing institutions should be modernized, democratized and
strengthened for this change. Serious efforts towards women empowerment have to be taken for all
women of all religions. The plural democracy is an identity of modern India. Hence initiatives should be
concentrated on bringing harmony in plurality, rather than blanket uniformity for flourishing Indian
democracy.