UCC irrelevant, goes against the spirit of Constitution: Muslim personal law board | India News

LUCKNOW/DELHI: Terming the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) “neither relevant nor beneficial for a multi-religious, multicultural and multilingual country like India”, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday said implementing it would deprive citizens of the privileges extended to them by “personal laws” and, hence, go “against the spirit of the Constitution”.
“If taking advantage of its majority in Parliament, the government passes and puts into effect the UCC, it will affect the unity and harmony that bind the nation. It will hinder the country’s progress and not bear any fruitful results,” the board’s executive committee, which met at Lucknow’s Nadwatul Ulama, said.

The board appealed to Muslims to establish more educational institutions to ensure that their religious and cultural values were preserved and allowed to thrive.

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The board said religion and faith were matters of belief and conscience that don’t require intervention. “The decision to follow a religion is natural. The Constitution honours this as a fundamental right, and so everyone has freedom to follow a religion of his choice. It is unfair to use force or money to influence an individual in this matter. However, in many states, laws have been made to deprive citizens of this very basic right. This is totally unacceptable. Yet, those who willingly choose to switch from one religion to another are free to do so. ”

AIMPLB board members oppose ‘Uniform Civil Code’

The board appealed to the government to put in place stringent measures to control communal hatred.