DMK MP P Wilson
Credit: X/@PWilsonDMK
New Delhi: DMK MP P Wilson on Monday said the ruling BJP is attempting to “thrust” the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) that “wipes out customs” and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “bring in gradual reforms” within communities through social engineering “to weed out undesirable practices”.
During the Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, he said the UCC proposes a unified set of personal laws applicable to all religions which would govern marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.
Once implemented, he said, the separate laws for Hindus, Muslim, Christian, Parsis, and Sikhs would be replaced by a common law
“The question is whether the union government is thinking of obliterating customs of all religions and killing secularism,” he said.
“I would like to urge the Prime Minister that instead of thrusting a uniform code that wipes out custom, we should adopt a rights based approach, to bring in equal rights for women, children and disadvantaged groups by encouraging dialogue, understanding and bring in gradual reforms within communities through social engineering to weed out undesirable practices,” he said.
Warning that imposing a “single set of personal laws” could “potentially erode their distinctiveness and rich diversity”, Wilson reminded that within Hinduism, numerous subcultures exist and each are distinguished by their individual identity, traditions and customs.
He said the “first casualty” would be Hindu tribes especially from states in the north-east, Goa, and Karnataka among others, who have a unique custom and tradition and are protected by Article 371 (A to H) of the Constitution but the implementation of UCC would “destroy” these Constitutional guarantees.
Wilson said the “second casualty” is the freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution not only for minorities but also for the majority religion. He recalled that Article 29 also protects the right of minorities to preserve and protect their distinct culture and an UCC will erode the unique culture and traditions of minorities.
“Thirdly, the UCC would affect the advantages given to the Hindu Undivided Family in property and taxation laws,” he said, even as some BJP MPs raised objections to his demand.
Touching upon the issue of marriage, he said most religions treat it as a “holy sacrament” but the UCC will reduce it to a civil transaction like property transactions and will destroy the sanctity of these sacraments.
“Tying a ‘thaali’ or ‘mangalsutra’ or taking seven steps around the fire or performing self-respect marriages introduced by Perarignar Anna will all be wiped out by the UCC,” he said.