Nivedita Menon has not highlighted the regressive and discriminatory laws practised under the Muslim Personal law (It isn’t about women”, July 15). Saying that the quest for a Uniform Civil Code is a part of a Hindu nationalist agenda is uncalled for. Is she trying to portray our Constitution makers and various Supreme Court judgments in poor light? There are a plethora of Muslim women’s organisations fighting to seek justice from patriarchy through the Personal Law Board; they certainly aren’t moving towards a nationalist agenda. The writer appears to be obsessed with criticising the BJP government and anything that relates to its ideology. If one applies her logic, all countries in the West that have implemented a UCC should then be following a Christian nationalist agenda.
Gagan Pratap Singh,Salarpur, Uttar Pradesh
The writer appears to have a very limited and self-serving view of the demands for implementation of a Uniform Civil Code. We mustn’t forget that it’s not exclusively for gender justice nor is it an issue about majority versus minority. The attempt by her to portray the UCC as a “stick used by Hindus to beat Muslims” is objectionable and shows her communal mindset. Demands for a UCC are based on the principle of equality — when Hindus have accepted a uniform code despite wide diversity within Hinduism itself, why can’t other communities do so? Muslims have embraced a uniform code in countries where they are in a majority. If the minorities can accept the Code of Criminal Procedure, then why not a civil code?
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