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The Catholic Sabha chief said that if the government is serious about UCC, it should first put forward a bill and circulate it to the citizens and call for proposals. (Image: IANS)
Sabha Catholic Chief Alwin D’Souza said the recent move of the central government towards Union Carbide City has created confusion among the different communities.
The Central Committee of the Mangaluru Catholic Sabha in Sabha on Wednesday asked the Union government to introduce a bill on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) rather than “causing confusion” among minorities and other communities in the country.
Speaking to reporters here, Alwyn D’Souza, the Catholic Primate of Sebha, said the recent indication of the central government towards UCC has created confusion among different communities.
He said that the Indian Law Commission distributing a questionnaire and soliciting the opinions of different communities on it had given the impression that the government somehow wanted to demolish the so-called UCC on all communities.
If the government is serious about UCC, it should first put forward a bill, circulate it to the citizens, and call for motions. He said it was not clear how the government wanted to achieve standardization by distributing a questionnaire.
With a bill, D’Souza said, the public can make suggestions or be in the clear position of either approving the bill if it protects their norms or opposing it if it is against their interests.
The statement of the Central Committee in Sebha, released at the press meeting, said that India has been described as an “ethnological museum” because of its diverse culture. The diversity is due to more than 10 religions living side by side.
There are also about 3,000 castes, 25,000 sub-castes, 1,109 scheduled castes and 744 scheduled tribe divisions in the country. All these religions, castes and tribes have their own distinct culture, customs, traditions, language, marital practices, inheritance, food habits, dress habits and way of life that have been followed for centuries.
This distinct culture, traditions and religious beliefs are protected by the constitution through their basic rights. Even as the constitution was being drafted, she said, unity in diversity was the motto.
The customs and traditions of various communities in India are codified in the personal laws of India regarding marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.
Although most of the laws in India are uniformly applicable to all citizens irrespective of religion, caste, caste and race, the personal laws of different castes have been respected.
The practice of marriage among Hindus is very different from the practice of marriage between Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Persians, and others. Hence, personal laws to preserve these unique practices are highly required and removing them is detrimental to the customs and practices of certain societies, according to the statement.
Trying to achieve monotheism where monotheism is not possible is to sound the death knell and reject all customs and traditions. She added that the government’s slogan “Subka Sath, Supka Vikas” (Taking everyone along for the prosperity of all) promotes diversity rather than uniformity.
The meeting was also attended by Praveen Pinto, Legal Adviser to the Catholic Sabha, and General Secretary Wilma Montero.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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