The universalist idea of democracy aims to protect the rights and interests of the majority, but it also emphasises the protection of minority rights and commitment to inclusivity. Majorities and minorities need not only be thought of as identitarian majority and minority communities. Majorities in democratic societies can also be imagined as ‘most of the people’.
In the last eight-nine years we have seen a face of majoritarian politics which was foreign to the idea of democracy in India. It has shown no interest in ensuring the welfare of most of the Indian people. The bricolage of ‘new India’ constructed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s promises and actions do not appear in sync with the parliamentary democracy envisaged through the freedom struggle and articulated in the Constitution of India.
This brand of political decision-making where decisions are apparently taken keeping in mind the avowed interests of a particular majority, announces aggressively that it does not care much for the preferences and inclinations of the minority groups. However, if one examines the decisions made or unmade by the majoritarian thrust minutely, a clear picture emerges of the potential damage to the majority itself.
Take for example, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitching for Uniform Civil Code recently in Bhopal, wherein he added that ‘one home cannot have different laws’. Before I comment on his views on UCC, let me first comment upon his choice of ‘home’ as a metaphor. What he needs to urgently understand, and weigh is the damage done to this idea of ‘home’ by his party (the BJP) and his politics. The strife stoked in different parts of our home, that is this nation, cannot be dealt with hostile rhetoric. Any reasonable family person will attest to this.
The only way forward is quite simple: First bring peace and order at home and provide a sense of belonging to alienated members of this home.
The 21st Law Commission’s views of 2018, shaped by more than 76,000 representations from different stakeholders, concluded that the “UCC is neither necessary nor desirable”. While speaking on the UCC, Modi deliberately chose not to acknowledge this and did not provide any rationale why this issue has been raked up again. Most of the votaries of UCC from within the BJP and the Sangh Parivar who appear on television or write opinion articles, must come out of their obsession about ‘polygamy among Muslims’ devoid of the factual support or evidence behind it.
The 21st Law Commission underlined that while all communities practice polygamy, it is the least among the Muslims. But the infatuation for a fake and fictitious anti-Muslim narrative of “Hum teen, hamare tees” among the shrill advocates of UCC reveals their blindness towards facts and utter disregard for statistical evidence. One wonders what deprivations and depravity lies at the roots of their bizarre take on the UCC and obsessive allegations about polygamy among Muslims.
A nuanced and sensitive reading of Constituent Assembly debates around the UCC which subsequently found its space in Article 44 is required together with the much recent 21st Law Commission report. Every reasonable citizen must insist that the UCC should not be seen through the favourite lens of this regime, namely, Hindus Vs Muslims.
What is often obliterated from the partisan discourse on the UCC is about tribal rites, customs and tradition. Under the UCC what would happen to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, read with Article 371, whereby states such as Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh, and Goa are treated with exceptions with respect to family law? Besides, they must confront the idea of overwhelming diversity of customs and traditions among the Hindu ‘majority’ itself.
There is every reason to believe that this is yet another instance of dog-whistle politics which aims to convey coded messages that resonate with a specific target audience. In the last nine years we have seen different forms of this politics on a daily basis. But one feels that the BJP is going for a stronger, more brazenly manipulative, and divisive push for programmes and policies which exploit existing tensions and prejudices within society for electoral gains. This cannot be good news for anyone, including majorities.
Ultimately, the goal of a well-functioning democracy should be to create an inclusive and fair society where the traditions, interests, and rights of all individuals, regardless of their majority or minority status, are respected and protected. Even the framers of the Constitution realised that a legislation such as the UCC requires a socio-political climate which is free from fear, intimidation, and mistrust.
Thus, the larger question for all of us, the government, as well as the Opposition is whether we have taken substantial steps to make India a ‘home’. A home ought to be a place of respectful co-existence. Which is marked by enabling attitudes, and not by hostile barricading against members who lack power or ability. An honest attempt to answer this question shall tell us about not just the future trajectory of the Uniform Civil Code, but also numerous nagging concerns and anxieties that confront today’s India.
(Manoj Kumar Jha is an RJD leader, and Member of the Rajya Sabha. Twitter: @manojkjhadu.)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.