Uniform Civil Law

By Subramanian Swamy, former Union Law Minister

Excerpts from an article written on 03 Dec, 2006 on http://www.organiser.org/

Full article here



In a Hindu country why should there be a separate Law for non-Hindus?

Hindus had been dhimmis for six hundred years in those parts of India despite being a bigger majority in the country than even today. Hence, a majority is not enough. Hindus need also a Hindu mindset to be free.

Thousands of Muslims had demonstrated on the streets demanding that the government not bring legislation that would nullify the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Shah Bano case but in vain.

Supreme Court v/s Shariat. Who is greater?

Rajiv Gandhi, I learnt later, on counsel from his Italian Catholic family, had surrendered to the hard line clerics who protested that the Supreme Court had no right to interfere and to de facto amend the Shariat, the Islamic law code. These relatives on a directive from the Vatican thought that if secular law would be applied to Muslims, it can be to the Christians too. This was a nonsense argument of the Muslim clerics, since the Shariat had already been amended, without protest, in the criminal law of India.

The Indian Penal Code represents the uniform criminal code that equally applies to all religious communities. I therefore ask the clerics: if a Muslim is caught stealing, can any court in India direct that his hand at the wrist be cut off as the Shariat prescribes? If Muslims can accept a uniform criminal code what is the logic in rejecting the uniform civil code?

A true Muslim is Dr. Jekyll when in minority, and Mr. Hyde when in majority.

So what should we Hindus do?

First, recognise that being a pious Hindu is not enough. Hindus must unite and work to install a Hindu-minded government. If 35 per cent of the 83 per cent Hindus unite to vote for a party, absolute majority is attainable, a party that espouses an approved Hindu agenda, then the union government is within reach through the ballot box.

Second, search for those Muslims who are ready to openly and with pride declare that their ancestors were Hindus. My guess is that about 75 per cent of Muslims will be ready to do so. These are the Muslims who can be co-opted by Hindus to fight Islamic fundamentalism. If we do not do so, then the Muslim clerics will have a free run of their fanaticism.

For this a required reading is Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Hinduism & Islam: Dedicated to the People of Pakistan Who have Forgotten Their Own Roots [www.artofliving.org]. In this Sri Sri Ravishankar has shown how “Muslims have completely forgotten that their forefathers were Hindus, so they have every right to Vedic culture”.
He in fact traces the pre-Islam origins of the K’aaba.

Third,

a. invest heavily in primary education to make it world class,

b. ban the madrasas for any student below 21 years, and

c. make Sanskrit a compulsory language for all students.

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Sounds good. Its a good idea to implement a good idea!