{"id":44069,"date":"2025-10-27T12:42:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T07:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=44069"},"modified":"2025-10-30T12:04:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T06:34:06","slug":"pm-modi-reiterates-support-for-ucc-quotes-ambedkar-km-munshis-1948-debate-views","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pm-modi-reiterates-support-for-ucc-quotes-ambedkar-km-munshis-1948-debate-views\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Modi Reiterates Support for UCC, Quotes Ambedkar &#038; KM Munshi&#8217;s 1948 Debate Views"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What is Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?<\/li>\n<li>UCC debate in Constituent Assembly<\/li>\n<li>KM Munshi\u2019s Support for the UCC<\/li>\n<li>Ambedkar\u2019s Support for UCC in Principle<\/li>\n<li>Outcome of the Debate on Article 35<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>PM Modi reiterated his support for a nationwide Uniform Civil Code (UCC) during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the 75-year journey of the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>He highlighted that the Constituent Assembly extensively debated the UCC and envisioned its implementation by future governments. The Prime Minister quoted Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who advocated for ending religion-based personal laws, and K.M. Munshi, who viewed the UCC as essential for national unity and modernization.<\/p>\n<p>Emphasizing the vision of the Constitution\u2019s drafters, he stated that the government is working with full commitment to establish a \u201csecular civil code.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is Uniform Civil Code?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A UCC would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities, in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.<\/li>\n<li>In other words, UCC is a set of rules\/regulations, which proposes to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in the country with a common set governing every citizen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Constitutional position<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for citizens throughout the territory of India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Article 44 is among the Directive Principles of State Policy.<\/li>\n<li>Directive Principles are not enforceable by court, but are supposed to inform and guide governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>UCC debate in Constituent Assembly<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Background of the UCC Debate<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>On November 23, 1948, the Constituent Assembly debated a draft Article 35 (now Article 44) on the UCC, which was included in the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).<\/li>\n<li>The draft stated that the State would aim to secure a UCC for all citizens of India.\\<\/li>\n<li>However, concerns were raised about its impact on religious communities, leading to its non-binding inclusion under the DPSPs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Opposition to the UCC<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Several members expressed apprehensions.<\/li>\n<li>Mohamad Ismail Sahib of the Indian Union Muslim League argued that a uniform code would not necessarily ensure harmony but could lead to discontent by interfering with personal laws.<\/li>\n<li>Naziruddin Ahmad echoed similar concerns, stating that religious laws, deeply connected with beliefs and practices, should remain untouched.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>KM Munshi\u2019s Support for the UCC<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Supported UCC<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>K.M. Munshi strongly advocated for the UCC, countering the criticism that it would be \u201ctyrannical\u201d to minorities.<\/li>\n<li>He pointed out that even advanced Muslim countries had not treated personal laws as sacrosanct to hinder a civil code.<\/li>\n<li>Munshi also addressed Hindu opposition to the UCC, particularly regarding laws on inheritance and succession, which were seen as part of religion.<\/li>\n<li>He argued that without a UCC, gender equality could not be achieved.<\/li>\n<li>Highlighting discrimination against women in Hindu law, Munshi stated that a civil code was essential to elevate the position of women to equality with men, as enshrined in the Fundamental Rights.<\/li>\n<li><strong>UCC and National Unity<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Munshi linked the UCC to national integration, urging the Muslim members to abandon an \u201cisolationist outlook.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>He emphasized that religion should be confined to its legitimate sphere, while the rest of life must be regulated to unify and strengthen the nation.<\/li>\n<li>He argued that the UCC would not be tyrannical to minorities but instead foster a stronger, consolidated nation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Ambedkar\u2019s Support for UCC in Principle<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ambedkar\u2019s position<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/dr-br-ambedkar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Dr. B.R. Ambedkar<\/strong><\/a>, while advocating for Article 35 (now Article 44), refrained from discussing the merits or demerits of implementing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).<\/li>\n<li>However, he defended its inclusion in the <i>Directive Principles of State Policy<\/i>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Existing Uniformity in Laws<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Ambedkar countered the argument that a uniform code was unfeasible in a diverse and vast country like India.<\/li>\n<li>He highlighted the existence of a uniform legal system in areas such as criminal law, which is uniformly enforced through the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Challenging the Notion of Uniformity in Muslim Personal Law<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Ambedkar questioned the claim that Muslim personal law had always been uniform across India. He cited examples:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><i>North-West Frontier Province<\/i> followed Hindu Law in matters of succession until 1935.<\/li>\n<li><i>Regions like United Provinces, Central Provinces,<\/i> and <i>Bombay<\/i> periodically operated under Hindu law in specific matters.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Limiting Religion\u2019s Jurisdiction<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Ambedkar argued against religion having \u201cvast, expansive jurisdiction\u201d that would prevent legislative reforms.<\/li>\n<li>He stressed the need for liberty to reform India\u2019s social system, which he described as rife with \u201cinequities, inequalities, and discrimination.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>He opposed excluding personal laws from the jurisdiction of the State.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Power to Legislate, Not Immediate Enforcement<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Ambedkar reassured apprehensive members that granting the State the power to legislate on personal laws did not mean immediate or objectionable enforcement.<\/li>\n<li>He emphasized that the government must respect and reconcile with the sentiments of different communities while exercising this power.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Outcome of the Debate on Article 35<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>At the end of the debate, Article 35 was put to vote and passed. It was later renumbered as Article 44 of the Indian Constitution.<\/li>\n<li>Constitutional law experts noted that while Article 44 states, \u201cthe state shall endeavour\u201d, other Directive Principles use stronger phrases like \u201cshall in particular direct its policy\u201d or \u201cshall be obligation of the state\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>This indicates that the <strong>state&#8217;s duty to implement Article 44 is comparatively less emphasized than other Directive Principles<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What did PM Modi highlight about UCC in the Lok Sabha?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>PM Modi reiterated his support for a nationwide Uniform Civil Code (UCC), quoting Ambedkar\u2019s advocacy for ending religion-based personal laws and KM Munshi\u2019s view of UCC as essential for national unity and modernization.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What was Ambedkar\u2019s stance on UCC during the 1948 debate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ambedkar supported the inclusion of UCC in the Directive Principles but refrained from discussing its immediate implementation. He emphasized that personal laws should not be immune to legislative reforms and that UCC was necessary to address inequalities in the social system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/everyday-explainers\/uniform-civil-code-ucc-debate-ambedkar-munshi-9726598\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PM Modi recalls 1948 debate on Uniform Civil Code: What Ambedkar, KM Munshi said<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/law-commission-uniform-civil-code-8671382\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Indian Express<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PM Modi recalls the 1948 Constituent Assembly debate on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), highlighting the views of Ambedkar and KM Munshi. Read about their perspectives on UCC and its constitutional implications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}