Muslims’ nod for UCC hinges on dialogue: Khan

Put the draft in public domain first, says State Minorities Commission chief

Hyderabad: The Muslim community would accept a uniform civil code if there is fair discussion of its draft and their issues are addressed, according to Chairman of State Minorities Commission Abid Rasool Khan.

• Khan says have a fair discussion first, address all points, and take opinion from Muslims in all walks of life
• It will affect not just Muslims but all communities, he says

Speaking to mediapersons here on Monday, Khan noted that if the Central government, which had asked the Law Commission to examine the issue of implementation of such a code, was serious, it had to first put a draft of it in public domain so that it can be discussed.

Underlining the "divergent characteristic" of the country, Khan said that "religion is the most important factor in every community, whether it is Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or any other. We do everything based on religion, including our voting, dietary life, etc. When it is such a case, the government has to tread carefully,” he said.

Pointing out that there had been debates over such a code for many years without any concrete outcome, Khan said the draft policy had not been placed in public domain nor was it discussed in any forum.

“My point is if the government is serious, I personally think most of my community would not object to it as long as there is a fair discussion on it, and the points are addressed and opinions are taken from Muslims in all walks of life," he said.

"But before that, let the government come out with a draft and place it in public domain what they want to do, because it is not only going to affect Muslims as is being made out... it is going to affect Hindus where there is a Succession Act... Hindu Undivided Family Act would be hit, child marriages would be hit, 'Sati' would be hit, then it’s going to affect the Jains..., it is going to affect the Sikh community.

“It is going to affect the Coorgis where their fire-arm law has to be repealed and it is going to affect most of the tribal communities because tribals have their own laws and they are not going to follow this law (uniform civil code). And in Nagaland, you have given special status for Nagas and North-East people... Then you need to repeal that also.

"So, whether such a composite law can be prepared by the Law Ministry, if it is done, discussed with all the communities, including the Muslims, we are ready to have a discussion on it and then see (if) it suits our requirements, we will accept it, there is no issue on that," he said.

“First of all, one needs to have a draft on what are we going to debate on," Khan said, adding that for the past many years he had been discussing "only three words--uniform civil code."