Naga lawyers warn: Uniform Civil Code will disturb Naga ethos

Dimapur, October 13 : The move of the Narendra Modi-government to formulate a uniform Civil Code will spell trouble for the subcontinent’s intricately-woven, yet distinctly diverse fabric of cultural exclusivity such as that of the Naga people, the Nagaland Bar Association has warned.

It will cause social disorder, the association stated in a copy of a letter addressed to the prime minister of India on Thursday.

‘If (a) uniform Civil Code is introduced covering the entire country, it shall cause so much hardship and social disorder to the Nagas as the personal and social life of the Nagas are quite distinct from the rest of people in the country,’ the representation stated.
“Hence, it is respectfully submitted that, in the event of any such law like uniform Civil Code is introduced, the provisions of Article 371A may be allowed to retain as it stands today.”

The association said to have learnt from the media that the union government had entrusted the Union Law Commission to examine the feasibility of a uniform Civil Code throughout the territories of India.

The personal and social life of the Naga people are mostly governed by “un-codified customary practices” and usages since time immemorial, the association explained.

‘There has been no occasion in judicial history where any of the traditional customs, practices, and usages have been held or struck down as opposed to law. Thus, the Nagas continue to remain in absolute contentment with the present status as protected under the Constitution,’ the association stated.

The proposed uniform Civil Code envisages a unified (‘code’) set of laws that would replace personal laws that currently are based on the unique customs of each major religious community in India.

The term ‘civil code’ is used to cover the entire body of laws that govern rights relating to property and otherwise in personal matters such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption and inheritance.

So, there are different laws governing these aspects for different communities in India. Thus, for instance, the laws governing inheritance or divorce among Hindus are different from those pertaining to Muslims or Christians and so on.

Hence, the uniform Civil Code essentially means unifying all these various “personal laws” to have one set of secular laws dealing with these aspects and applying them to all citizens of India irrespective of the community they belong to.