1st Venky Mock Indian Parliament

India is a country of million customs and communities. The family life of Indians is, rightly or wrongly, guided by their respective religious and customary beliefs.  Religions more or less survive only through the ceremonies and social customs enforced upon its members.

 

Some believe, to be truly secular, India needs a uniform civil code. The Shah Banu case, is an extreme example of religiosity being used to violate the fundamental rights of a woman citizen, who was thereby reduced to destitution. Whereas rituals relating to birth, marriage, inheritance, etc. are certainly in the realm of religion, there are areas where these infringe on guarantees provided in the constitution, such as polygamy, oral divorce, etc, and in these areas the law must step in to ensure a minimal set of rights for its citizen.

 

On the other hand, if a different set of rules that violate the religious precepts are enforced upon individuals, this would negate the fundamental rights of ‘Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion’ guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India. 

 

 

Venky Mock Indian Parliament would like to bring to the fore the burning issue of the Uniform Civil Code.