UCC: Legal Freedom Vs Cultural Identification
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 12
- 1 min read
Monisha Chandra, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
Moksha Inamdar, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
I. INTRODUCTION
Discussion of the UCC in India is one of the longest-standing constitutional dilemmas concerning the conflict between the ideal of legal homogeneity and cultural heterogeneity. In Article 44 of the Indian Constitution, which belongs to the Directive Principles of State Policy, it is laid down that "the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India."However, more than seventy years since independence, the implementation of this principle remains incomplete, except for some legislative moves in certain states. The discussion about the UCC balances on the two constitutional ideals of equality and non-discrimination, expressed in Articles 14 and 15, respectively, and religious and cultural freedom, established by Articles 25 to 30.
The aim of this paper is to inspect the issue of the Uniform Civil Code from the perspectives of constitutionalism, jurisprudence, and sociology. This paper will argue that the dichotomy of 'legal freedom versus cultural identity' does not capture the complex interplay between reforms in personal laws and constitutional morality. The article is divided into five sections. After an introductory section, Section II chronicles the history of personal laws and the intentions of the constitutional framers concerning the UCC. Section III evaluates the judicial approach to the issue, analysing the balance struck by courts between directive principles and fundamental rights. Section IV critiques current views, whether in support of or against the UCC, challenging notions of gender justice, national unity, and cultural autonomy. Finally, Section V seeks to construct a synthesis that may harmonise uniformity and accommodation by studying the comparative constitutional experience.
