Article 44 in Part IV of the Constitution of India says that “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civilcode throughout the territory of India.” It means that all the personal religious laws shall be kept at bay and a uniform personal law governing areas of marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance shall be formulated. This law shall not keep in its ambit personal law regarding any religion or culture and it shall be the same for all persons irrespective of their caste, creed or colour.

Arguments for a uniform civil code :

• The codification and unification of various personal laws will result in coherent system of laws which will mitigate much of the existing confusion and enable easier and efficient administration of laws. It will also result in better understanding of the law.
• Uniform civil code will provide considerable impetus towards a more secular nation by placing all communities and religions on the same plane, and thereby placing an individual’s Indian identity before his or her religious affiliation.
• From a gender perspective, it is argued that the personal laws of certain communitiesand religions treat men and women unequally. In a democratic state, where women have just as important a role to play as men, enacting a common civil code would eliminate this inequality, and lead to a more gender sensitive society. (Example – Recent Shayara Bano case where Supreme Court invalidated the practice of instant triple talaq.)
• A uniform civil code will infuse the Indian legal system with a much needed dose of parity between different religions in respect of their personal laws. For instance, divorce amongst Hindus and Christians is substantially more stringent and regulated (by virtue of being codified) than under Muslim law.

Arguments against a uniform civil code:

• Uniform civil code might be seen as a tyranny of the majority towards the minority, and engender a great degree of divisiveness within the Indian society. However, as K.M. Munshi said in the Constituent Assembly, specifically citing the examples of Turkey and Egypt, “Nowhere in advanced Muslim countries the personal law of each minority has been recognised as so sacrosanct as to prevent the enactment of a Civil Code”.
• The task of actually devising a set of rules that will govern all communities is a very daunting considering the vast array of interests and sentiments to be accounted for, in order that all communities enjoy equal rights, which are also not disadvantageous compared to their situation under their separate personal laws.
• Since personal laws are derived from, religious beliefs, it may be prudent not to disturb them by enacting a common code, for this runs the risk of engendering a great deal of animosity and tension between various religious communities – something that is already a major problem in India.

There are valid arguments on both sides of the ideological fence. Whatever the ultimate outcome may be however, the decision has to be well thought out and grounded in reason and not biased political motives or partisan communal interests.

Some of the laws that were passed to bring about religious stability and gender equality are as follows:-

• Indian Succession Act, 1865,
• The Indian Marriage Act, 1864,
• Hindu Widow Remarriage Act, 1856,
• Married Women’s Property Act of 1923,
• Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act, 1928.