Dimapur — Joining the chorus in opposing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Nagaland Law Students’ Federation (NLSF) stated that implementation of the law would result in disaster.
In a letter to the chairman of 22nd Law Commission of India, NLSF stated that India as a nation of unity in diversity would naturally override the customs and traditional practices of the minority community, which is the very essence of harmonious existence of any society.
NLSF found it unable to comprehend the rationality of the view that UCC would unite the country when even the Naga people in particular has quite different customary and religious practices even with the people from Northeastern states of India leaving aside the vast majority of mainland Indian.
While referring to the preamble of the constitution of India enacted on November 26, 1949, which clearly mentioned about justice, social, economic and political, liberty of thoughts, expression, belief, faith and worship, equality of status and of opportunity and assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation, it felt that implementation of UCC would be a direct attack on the preamble of the Indian constitution as it would not be able to accommodate all the different religious and customary practices of diverse Indian nation.
NLSF also stated that implementing of UCC would curtail the rights of many Indian especially the minority groups of people, which would result in direct attack on the fundamental rights of the citizens of India.
It added that implementation of UCC would be a threat to Article 38 of the Indian constitution under directive principle of state policy where state is to secure a social order for the promotion of the welfare of the people. It argued that UCC would never be a welfare for the state of Nagaland in particular and its people who are unique from majority Indian yet a major part of Indian nation.
Besides, the state of Nagaland being formed out of political necessity under Article 371A, it stated that UCC would be a direct threat to Article 371A, the special provision granted through the constitutional amendment.
Basing on the aforesaid circumstances, NLSF strongly felt that UCC was unreasonable, discriminatory and arbitrary with the only scope for creating deep chasm between the majority and minority groups of people in India. NLSF, therefore, has opposed UCC in the larger interest of the nation and the state of Nagaland.