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As such the issue of Uniform civil
code was raised in the beginning by the women's movement in its
quest for gender justice. During Shah Bano case the immaturity and
mistakes of Rajiv Gandhi regime sowed the seeds of dissatisfaction
to this judgment reversal by the act of parliament. As the orthodox
section of Muslim leadership banked on the preservation of male
domination in the name of Islam, the RSS and its progeny intensified
the campaign for Uniform code. It came in as a convenient handle to
beat the Muslim community with. It was asserted by BJP leadership
that a uniform code will draw from different prevalent codes and
that's what will bring in a 'model' code. Realizing that a mere
uniformity cannot bring in justice the women's movement began to
call for gender just code and that's where it stands today. There is
a crucial difference in these two simple concepts. A uniform code
need not be gender just while a gender just code can be uniform for
the whole Nation. As such the civil code relates more to the laws of
inheritance of property, divorce and custody of children. And in
these matters most of the prevalent codes are biased in favor of men
without any shadow of doubt.
Going back early to the days of Nehru-Ambedkar,
one recalls that Nehru had requested Dr. Ambedkar to begin the
process of drafting civil codes, beginning with Hindu code. Hindu
being the majority it was more pertinent to begin with that. In due
course Ambedkar-Nehru duo realized that the serious opposition to
this within the ruling party itself will not permit the passage of
the bill and the justice cannot be delivered to women so easily.
Meanwhile the women's movement started picking up and it in due
course started articulating for equality before law and need for
legal provisions in that direction. While even the process for
Hindus is not complete the women from Minority community started
suffering from other disadvantages. The regular recurrence of
anti-minority violence intimidated the minorities, minority women in
particular. Till 91-92 the contradictory trends of progress and
regression of minority reforms was fairly in balance. Post babri the
regressive trends became stronger and the ghettoisation of Muslim
community started setting in. The Muslim community as whole and
Muslim women in particular became subject to a
physical-psychological intimidation. Every round of violence left a
scar on the minority psyche. The Mumbai riots were a severe blow to
internal reforms within the community. The Gujarat carnage has
exceeded all the imaginable barbarities against women and the same
battered women had to take shelters in the mosques. What will be the
result of this phenomenon, 'mosque as the only savior for Muslim
women'? To say that it will further strengthen the hold of Mullahs
is to state the obvious. The movement of Muslim women for justice
has been on in a small but significant way. This gets a severe jolt
every time a bout of Anti Muslim violence breaks out. The Muslim
women are double victims. On one hand they have to face the violence
of Hindutva from outside and on the other they are victims of the
intimidation of Mullahs from inside.
To begin with no civil codes cannot be
imposed from outside. We require a feeling of security to ensure
that reform process begins. In the current scenario the Hindutva
movement is repressive not only to the Muslim minorities but it also
it targets at the gender equality. It asserts that notion of Women's
liberation is licentious, synonym of loose morals. It moans about
the glorious position of Indian women in the past where women were
worshipped. And so we do not need any notions of "Western" ideas of
gender equality as Hindus worshipped 'their' women. The Hindutva
women's organizations, which are subordinate to male RSS, propagate
an opposition to the ideas of struggling for equality and justice.
The parallel cultural expression is being percolated through the
current Hindi serials like Saas bhi Khabhi Bahu thi and its clones
on different channels, which merely propagate the patriarchal
notions in different guises. Also with the ascendance of Hindu Right
movement all the other Human rights movements are facing a setback.
Today it is an impossibility to take
up the issue of Gender just code right away. The doctored minds are
talking of the great traditions, unmindful of the fact that what is
being paraded as the great tradition is nothing but the values
enshrined in the Manusmirit in more refined form.
We do need Uniformity, but of course
it has to be based on justice. This justice is the biggest victim at
the hands of the Religion based nationalism. We need to restore the
democratic culture and spirit in all aspects of social life as the
prerequisite for justice. No threatened and insecure community can
go in for reforms. It is commendable that even in the shadow of
terror of this atmosphere, created by Togadia's and Modi's, a large
section of Muslim community and leadership are talking of progress
and reforms. The Shahi Imams are being marginalized. This is a
positive trend in the Nation. While BJP will try its best to use
this handle of Uniform code, it is imperative that democratic
movement works for a riot free India, a harmonious atmosphere where
communities feel secure and thereby strive for progress and justice.
More than Muslims, the major opposition to tie gender just code will
come from the same Hindutva forces that today are demanding for
Uniform code. Once the terrain is shifted to Justice as the first
principle and uniformity as an accompaniment Hidutva will oppose it
tooth and nail as its very foundation is on the concept of
patriarchy and male domination. It's a clone of Talibanism or
Islamism as being practiced by the Pakistani ruling junta where
Mullahs hold the sway.
There is an urgent need to shift the
debate to issues of security and justice which are the core issues,
the basic foundation on which Uniformity can be built and brought in
for all the communities. | 
