The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has strongly objected to the move of the BJP-led government in Uttarakhand to bring the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, charging that the proposed legislation targeted the identity of the Muslim community besides inflicting damage on the country’s diversity.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami tabled the UCC Bill in the state Assembly on Tuesday, which seeks to bring uniformity in laws governing marriage, divorce, and inheritance, among other things, across religions. It proposes the banning of practices like polygamy and bringing in a uniform marriage age for citizens from all communities.
Commenting on the Dhami government’s move, AIMPLB spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said, “We are protesting UCC. This UCC is against the diversity of the country. This is the country of different religions, culture and different languages and we have accepted that diversity. If you try to implement such a Uniform Civil Code, then you are causing a damage to that diversity.”
Ilyas also said, “Secondly, you are forcing a majoritarian point of view on everyone. You have drafted the UCC considering a particular Hindu religion and imposing it on everyone.” He asked if tribals have been exempted from the UCC, why the same yardstick cannot be applied to Muslims too?
The AIMPLB spokesperson said the UCC Bill’s provisions would clash with the Muslim religious laws or personal laws, which are derived from the holy Quran.
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