Editorial 1 : The necessity of a secular UCC
Context: Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech
Uniform Civil Code: Unfinished agenda of the Indian Constitution
- Referring to the unfinished agenda of the Indian Constitution, the PM called for promulgating a uniform civil code in the country.
- PM said “laws that divide the country on religious lines must be done away with. They have no place in a modern society. The times demand a secular civil code. And then we will be free of religious discrimination”.
Dr. Ambedkar on UCC
- PM Modi’s pitch for a secular civil code for all Indians is perfectly in line with the arguments made by Dr. BR Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly.
- On November 23, 1948, when Article 35 of the draft Constitution, that called for a uniform civil code, came up for discussion before the Assembly, Ambedkar took the firm stand that it shouldn’t get mired in communal discourse.
- Rejecting amendments proposed by members like Pocker Sahib, Hussain Imam and Muhammad Ismail Sahib, Ambedkar reiterated that there was no merit in their argument that the “Sharia law was immutable and uniform throughout India”.
- Many other laws like the criminal procedure code, law of transfer of property and negotiable instruments act were applicable to all Indians, covering every aspect of their lives.
- Most Muslims in provinces of British India followed Hindu law until the Sharia Act was passed by the British colonial government in 1937.
- The NWFP (today’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) was not subject to Sharia until 1935.
- Ambedkar referred to a law in North Malabar region called Marumakkathayam Law that was applicable to both Hindus and Muslims by which matriarchy was followed by the people of Kerala.
- Ambedkar’s argument in the Constituent Assembly was that the uniform civil code should be seen in the same light as a secular law applicable to all.
Post Independence
- The Uniform Civil Code should have been implemented after the formation of the first government in 1952.
- PM Nehru couldn’t muster the courage when the best opportunity came during the reform in the Hindu law in 1954 and the issue lingered on since then.
Judiciary on UCC
- The courts across the country repeatedly told the government that civil law reform is not just a matter concerning any one religion and hence a uniform code is essential.
- In Sarla Mudgal vs Union of India (1995), the Supreme Court had held that “when more than 80 per cent of the citizens have already been brought under the codified personal law, there is no justification whatsoever to keep in abeyance, anymore, the introduction of Uniform Civil Code for all citizens”.
- In the John Vallamattom vs Union of India case in 2003, the SC had again said that “It is a matter of regret that Article 44 of the Constitution has not been given effect to”.
Muslim women rising up to the idea of UCC
- Noorjehan Safia Niaz and Zakia Soman, co-founders of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), wrote a letter to PM Modi in November 2015, stating that certain orthodox and patriarchal males have stonewalled any attempt towards reform in Muslim personal law.
- In the process, Muslim women have been denied their Quranic rights as well as their rights as equal Indian citizens.
Conclusion
- Almost all Muslim countries the world over, such as Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and even Bangladesh and Pakistan in our neighbourhood, have codified personal laws governing marriage and family matters.
- Indian Muslims are denied this opportunity.
- As the PM pointed in his Independence Day address, codification of personal laws has nothing to do with religion. It is a step towards gender justice, and a secular necessity.
Editorial 2 : Bad weather report
Context: Hottest July ever recorded
The Hottest July: What does it indicate?
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest data, shows that the world has experienced its hottest July ever recorded.
- Some of the warming is due to El Nino and there is a distinct possibility that September will be cooler if La Nina keeps its date.
- Given the staggering difference between the temperatures of the last 12 months and earlier records, there is a certainty that world is entering uncharted territory on climate change.
What needs to be done?
- Dealing with climate change will require hastening mitigation measures and plugging knowledge gaps in diverse realms — weather reporting, making agriculture climate resilient, healthcare and urban planning.
Climate modelling
- Climate modelling has traditionally been a slow and reactive process.
- The studies are fairly accurate in simulating global and national trends but they tend to underestimate regional variations.
- This makes it difficult to plan adaptation to local weather vagaries.
- Hyper-local weather conditions have emerged as a new challenge.
- In India, the IMD predicts weather at the state, district or city levels. Increasingly, however, it’s becoming apparent that blocks and localities within cities and districts require information on the magnitude of heat or rainfall.
- Microclimate forecasting is a nascent field of study, and at most places it is heavily reliant on historical data that doesn’t account for unexpected changes.
Solution and Way forward
- Increase the number of meteorological stations to monitor weather in different urban and rural zones.
- Develop information-sharing mechanisms within countries and across national borders.
- Scaling up projects under the UNFCCC’s aegis like the decade-old Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative could go a long way in weathering uncertainties.
- The world needs a better response to the growing number of floods, droughts, forest fires and glacier loss.