Need ‘common civil law’ that ends discrimination based on religion: Venkaiah

M. Venkaiah Naidu, Former Vice President of India. File
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan

Former vice president of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, said on Wednesday (October 6, 2024) that the time was ripe for a “Common Civil Code” that would have common laws across communities for marriage, divorce, and inheritance, and which would protect the rights of women.

Speaking at his Delhi residence, Mr. Naidu said that rather than a “Uniform Civil Code,” that stressed uniformity, the effort should be to find commonality across various personal laws.

Also read | Uniform Civil Code, ‘One Nation, One Election’ to be implemented in next term, says Amit Shah

“The need for a civil code common to all citizens is enshrined in our Constitution under the Directive Principles of State Policy, and at 75 years, we are now a mature democracy that should debate the issue and arrive at a common view,” he said. He added that discussions should be held not just by political parties but also representatives of various communities, religious and otherwise.

Avoid dogma

“Marriage, divorce, and inheritance, should be governed via common laws, and dogma should not be allowed to get in the way. Common law should be against discrimination on the basis of religion,” he said, stressing that “women should not suffer because of blind faith.”

Mr. Naidu’s turn of phrase for a uniform civil code is interesting in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his address on Independence Day this year, said that the time had come for a “secular civil code,” again a phrase which was a departure from the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) spoken of till now.

The need for a UCC is one of the core issues of the BJP’s ideology, and State governments have been encouraged to introduce it. Uttarakhand became the second State in India to have a UCC, to be implemented from November, while several other States, including Assam, say that they too will implement one. The Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice had also discussed this issue in 2023 , and asked that tribal communities with a unique cultural character be allowed to remain outside the purview as tribal culture needed preservation.