Senior advocate of Supreme Court Kapil Sibal will represent this important case in the court on behalf of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind
AMN / New Delhi:
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, under the guidance of its President Maulana Arshad Madani, has filed a petition against implementation of Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand in Nainital High Court and also mentioned it in front of the Chief Justice of Uttrakhand.
The court may hear the case this week. Senior Advocate of Supreme court Kapil Sibbal will represent this important case in the Court on behalf of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind. In response to this petition, Maulana Madani expressed that they approached the court with the hope of receiving justice in order to uphold the Constitution of the country, democracy, and the supremacy of law. He said that courts remain our last resort.
He further stated, “We will not accept any law that is against Sharia. Muslims can compromise on things, but they can never compromise on their Shariah and religion. This is not just a matter of the existence of Muslims, but their rights. The current government wants to take away the rights granted to Muslims by the Constitution of the country through the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code Act. According to our creed, our family laws are not man-made, but are derived from the Quran and Hadith. For those who do not wish to follow any religious personal laws, there is already an optional civil code in the country. So, what is the need for a Uniform Civil Code?”
The implementation of uniform civil code is in conflict with the fundamental rights given to citizens in the constitution. The question is not about the personal law of Muslims, but about keeping the country’s secular constitution in its position, because India is a secular country and the meaning of secularism in the constitution is that the government of any country has no religion of its own, and people of a country are free to choose any religion.
So uniform civil code is not acceptable for Muslims and it is also detrimental to the unity and integrity of the country. He added that for the implementation of Uniform Civil Code, Article 44 is presented as evidence and it is propagated that Uniform Civil Code is mentioned in the Constitution while Article 44 is not in directive principles, but it is a suggestion. But there is no mention of Articles 25, 26 and 29 of the Constitution in which religious freedom is guaranteed while recognizing the fundamental rights of citizens, and the Muslim Personal Law is also protected under the Shariat Application Act of 1937.
In light of this, the Uniform Civil Code negates fundamental rights, yet our government says that one country shall have one law and that there cannot be two laws in one house. It’s a strange thing. Maulana Madani also said that The provisions of IPC, CRPC here are not uniform in the whole country, its nature changes in the states, the Cow Slaughter law in the country is not even the same law, it is not enforced in five states.
He stated that both before and after independence, whenever there were attempts to interfere with Sharia by miscreants, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind strongly opposed such efforts. The history of India bears witness that whenever the Government of India felt the need to legislate regarding Shariah, without the guidance of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, those laws could not be completed. For example, the Shariath Act and the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act there are two acts in Indian laws where the name of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and its efforts are mentioned. In the records of Indian laws, there is a reference to Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind in the context of the enforcement of the Shariah Bill in the following words:
Before the Shariah Bill of 1937, traditional laws were in place. In place of these, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, as the greatest and sole representative organization of Muslims, made a strong demand for the implementation of the Shariah Bill, and it was on their demand that the Shariat Bill of 1937 was passed. (Statement of Objects and Reasons, P-1)
Similarly, in 1939, regarding the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Bill, the following sentence appears in Indian laws: “This law is being passed based on the opinion of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.” (Debates of the Legislature, P-9)
In the Constitution of India, only Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is mentioned, and no other organization is referenced. Those who do not understand the importance of what is mentioned in the Constitution often interpret it in their own way, based on their preferences.
Maulana Madani said that it seems quite correct to say that the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code is a deliberate conspiracy to restrict the religious freedom of the citizens. He also said that the sectarian forces want to keep the country’s minorities, especially Muslims, in constant fear and chaos by creating new emotional and religious issues and they want to set fire to the Constitution of the country, but Muslims should not go through any kind of fear and chaos. As long as there are just people available in the country, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind will continue its war against these forces, which are not only a great threat to the unity and integrity of the country, but also they seek to divide the society on the basis of prejudice. He said that love has been inculcated in the soil of this country for thousands of years, not hatred. Hate can be said to be successful for some time, but we are sure that the final and certain victory will be for love.