Untouchability was allowed in India up until 1950, despite the fact that it is an inhumane practice, people used to avoid touching those who were from a lower caste. However, as society evolved, individuals realized that discrimination based on caste should no longer be tolerated and that such actions should be condemned.

Irrespective of caste, every human being deserves to be treated equally. Untouchability was eventually and formally outlawed by the Indian Constitution's article 17 in 1950 after decades of advocacy to do away with this heartless and cruel practice.

What we took away from it is that as time moves on, people, laws, and human rights should move on as well! India is a nation that is at the pinnacle of its growth, with the Indian Kabaddi team winning the Asian Cup, the speed at which India is advancing appears to be unbeatable after being the first country to land on the South Pole of the moon and the successful launch of Aditya L1 by ISRO.

Do you believe it should be legal for a person to have four weddings in today's date in a developing nation like India, allowing it to be special in the rarest of the rare situations? Should underage marriage be permitted? Should it be legal for women to receive less than half of what men do in terms of succession and inheritance? Should this be acceptable that Muslim women cannot claim maintenance like the other Indian women do?

What Is Uniform Civil Code?

Let's examine the uniform civil code in more detail. Article 44, talks about creating a single personal law for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and Parsis mentions the uniform civil code.

In India, all laws are implemented uniformly. It is termed uniformity when the punishment is the same whether I or you commit a murder. The Indian Constitution is the best illustration of the country's many consistent laws. In addition to the Indian Constitution there are numerous more legislation including Contract Act, IPC and CPC. Personal laws, however this is the lone exception to the uniformity that differs between religions. Because of its diversity, India has laws that are unique to each religion, including Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, and Parsi.

History Of Personal Laws In India

Let's examine India's history with regard to personal legislation. We'll make an effort to comprehend the Hindu aspect, the Muslim angle, and how the British influenced these perspectives. Hindus therefore possessed the Shastra, which the king would next interpret and put into practice. No matter what kind of issue it is, the Shastra contains solutions for all of them. In a same vein, Muslims possessed Sharia law, which was interpreted by Kazis and carried out by Nawabs.

Following the arrival of the East India Company, courts were established to impose English common law on their subjects who were English. But when it came to resolving the problems of Indian subjects, the question that arose was which law should be applied. Both Brahmins and Qazis were called to interpret Shashtra and Sharia law.

However, high courts continued to be constructed in some parts of India until 1862, and several religious legislation, such as the Hindu Women's Remarriage Act, the Hindu Women's Right to Property Act, the Hindu Inheritance Act, and others, were also being created. Similar to this, Muslim legislation such as the Muslim Personal Law Application Act and the Muslim Marriage Dissolution Act were codified.

Let's examine the development of Article 44 in the Indian Constitution. There was much discussion when the drafting committee was established on how to implement the standard civil code. Article 35 of the proposal contained UCC. Muhammad Ismail requests to add a qualification. Any organization, division, or community will not be required to give up its personal law, according to article 35.

The decision to keep the Uniform Civil Code under the Directive Principles of State Policy was made with a vote of 5:4 after some members argued that it should be included in the list of essential rights while others opposed it. When the constitution was adopted, Article 44 applied to UCC.

In What Areas Do We Need Uniformity?

Let's examine a few instances to show how unique the personal laws in India at the moment are. Let's start with section 494 of the IPC, which states that getting married a second time while still having a surviving spouse is illegal. However, a Muslim male is permitted up to 4 marriages. That is a violation of our criminal laws. Now, we cannot achieve uniformity in this statute by allowing as many unions as you like.

Since monogamy is the norm in the modern society, uniformity will follow. Another illustration is the fact that Muslim women can only inherit less than half of a property's stake as compared to their male relatives but Hindu women get an equal share.

After that, unlike other Indian women, Muslim women cannot request maintenance for a very long time. The most significant distinction, in my opinion, is that child marriage is prohibited by Indian law under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 if it occurs before the prescribed age for marriage, which is 18 or 21 years it will be consider as child marriage. However, in one religion, it is permitted.

We must remember that the UC is not a Hindu-Muslim argument. This entire problem is about getting rid of laws that are illogical, discriminatory, and degrading in society.

Fundamental Rights V. DPSP

Another problem is that, unlike fundamental rights, the UCC is not subject to judicial enforcement because it is one of the directing principles of state policy.

Let's first establish the distinction between fundamental rights and DPSP. There were many obstacles and constraints in the way of our country's independence. May be financial constraints, social restrictions, cultural restrictions, and many others. Therefore, at the time, all significant rights were guaranteed, and was protected by fundamental rights.

It was also intended that as the nation develops and progressed, we would accept new rights, which were specified in the DPSP. The right to education, For a very long time, lawmakers and commissions believed that our nation wasn't evolved enough to offer free and required education.

Then they saw that the country would not advance unless education was made mandatory. The right to education was later included in the list of fundamental rights as a result of an amendment. Therefore, it is crucial to embrace new rights as the nation develops. A fundamental civil right could be established for UCC as well.

Conclusion
In my opinion, all personal laws that are demeaning, biased, or opposed to social justice should be ruled unlawful. Uniformity in the context of marriage can suggest that it is now obligatory for everyone to register their marriage. Of course, this does not mean that everyone will suddenly have to go through 7 rounds to get married. We must comprehend that the Constitution is ultimate and that personal laws must be altered in accordance with the Constitution; the Constitution cannot be changed to accommodate every personal law.