Cultural identity begins once again

AI generated image New Delhi: The Assam government's decision to introduce the UCC Bill in the state assembly on Monday marks a significant shift in the political landscape. After Uttarakhand and Gujarat, Assam has become the third BJP-ruled state to move decisively toward giving legal shape to the Uniform Civil Code. Indications also suggest that the issue may soon emerge at the center of political discourse in West Bengal. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Atul Bora introduced the "Assam...

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AI generated image New Delhi: The Assam government's decision to introduce the UCC Bill in the state assembly on Monday marks a significant shift in the political landscape. After Uttarakhand and Gujarat, Assam has become the third BJP-ruled state to move decisively toward giving legal shape to the Uniform Civil Code. Indications also suggest that the issue may soon emerge at the center of political discourse in West Bengal. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Atul Bora introduced the "Assam Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026" in the Assembly. The proposed legislation extends far beyond issues of marriage and divorce, touching several sensitive aspects of the social structure. According to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the law seeks to regulate five major areas, a ban on polygamy, a uniform minimum age for marriage, compulsory registration of marriages and divorces, equal inheritance rights for daughters in ancestral property, and mandatory registration of live-in relationships. The government argues that the legislation is aimed at providing legal protection to women and eliminating entrenched social evils. The most striking aspect of the Assam model, however, is its "exception clause." Scheduled Tribes have been kept outside the ambit of the proposed law, whether they reside in the hills or the plains. Traditional religious customs and rituals have also been exempted. This reflects the government's attempt to balance the message of equality with the ethnic and cultural sensitivities of the Northeast. Indeed, this remains one of the core challenges of Indian federalism that maintaining harmony between uniformity and diversity. The opposition has sharply criticised the Bill both inside and outside the Assembly from the very beginning of the session. While the ruling party claims that introducing the UCC fulfills one of its key electoral promises, opposition parties such as the Congress, Trinamool Congress, and Raijor Dal have questioned both the timing of the legislation and its potential social consequences. Assam Congress working president Zakir Hussain Sikdar described the move as the BJP's "political agenda" and asked what tangible benefit it would bring to ordinary citizens. The opposition has also alleged that there was no broad-based social or political consultation before introducing the Bill. Roots of Idea Yet, the idea of a Uniform Civil Code is far from new. Article 44 of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution directs the State to endeavour to secure a common civil code for all citizens. The roots of this idea can be traced back to the colonial era. In 1835, the British government proposed the concept of a uniform law, though personal religious laws were kept outside its scope. Goa, through the Portuguese Civil Code, has long had a form of common civil law in place. However, in independent India, Uttarakhand became the first state to take a concrete step in this direction. The UCC Bill was introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly in February 2024 and implemented in January 2025 after receiving presidential assent. The Uttarakhand model granted equal property rights to sons and daughters and made registration of live-in relationships mandatory, while exempting Scheduled Tribes. Gujarat, too, passed a UCC Bill this year, with a particular emphasis on inheritance laws. Under the proposed framework, if a person dies intestate, parents, children, and spouses would receive equal shares in the property. Highlighted Need The judiciary, too, has repeatedly underscored the need for a Uniform Civil Code. In the landmark Shah Bano case, the Supreme Court observed that Article 44 had remained "a dead letter" and stated that a common civil code could strengthen national integration. In the Sarla Mudgal judgment as well, the Court expressed disappointment over the failure to implement the UCC. Again in 2015, the Supreme Court reiterated the need to uphold the spirit of Article 44 by moving toward a common civil framework for the entire country. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was among the strongest advocates of a Uniform Civil Code. During the Constituent Assembly debates, he argued that such a law would apply equally to people of all religions and would have nothing to do with religious practices themselves. He believed that ensuring equality in matters of family, marriage, inheritance, and civil rights was the duty of the State, so that individual rights would not be compromised in the name of community traditions.

Distraction Derby

Correspondent
Feb 19, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Feb 20, 2025

It is a hoary axiom to say that cricket is more than just a sport in South Asia, but an intense emotion. Nowhere will that sentiment be more apparent as the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy gets underway. This time, the tournament finds itself embroiled in the geopolitics of the nations it represents. For Pakistan, it is a long-awaited return to the global stage, hosting its first major ICC event since 1996. For the other nations, it is a welcome respite for their respective countrymen from the political and economic turbulence at home.

Of the eight teams competing, only India, Australia and New Zealand arrive without significant domestic upheaval. The other five - Pakistan, England, South Africa, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - are all grappling with internal or external strife of varying intensities. England remains politically fractured internally, with its Labour government grappling with a range of socio-cultural crises. South Africa faces post-electoral turmoil and a declining economy. Bangladesh has been in a state of permanent destabilisation ever since the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s regime in August last year, with creeping Islamization and ever-increasing crackdown on Hindu minorities. Afghanistan, governed by the Taliban, continues to be an international pariah. And Pakistan, the host, is perpetually reeling from political volatility, with a fragile civilian government battling economic distress and military dominance.

Yet, cricket, perhaps the most enduring colonial legacy, remains an escape from these realities. The Champions Trophy, last played in 2017, returns as a brief reprieve, offering a few weeks where national pride can be redefined not by political strife but by the number of wickets taken and centuries scored.

The tournament also marks the latest chapter in the enduring saga of India-Pakistan cricketing relations. India, refusing to play in Pakistan, will have its matches staged in the UAE under a ‘hybrid’ model. Though this ensures the safety of its players, it deprives the event of what would have been its most tantalizing spectacle, that of an Indian team attempting to outclass Pakistan on its own soil. After all, few things delight Indian fans more than beating Pakistan in Lahore or Karachi.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has waited decades to shake off its status as a cricketing exile. Ever since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, international sides have approached touring Pakistan with caution. For Pakistani fans, long denied the thrill of hosting major matches, the Champions Trophy is both a celebration and a statement: that cricket has finally come home.

The Champions Trophy this time, literally serves as metaphor for cricket as a sanctuary amid chaos. Victory in cricket will not resolve economic crises or political turmoil, but it can offer a fleeting sense of unity. When a nation collectively cheers a well-timed cover drive or a spectacular last-over win, its troubles, however briefly, fade into the background. In a year when much of the world’s political discourse is steeped in pessimism, the Champions Trophy will serve as a rare moment where national rivalries play out on the pitch, not in the streets or the corridors of power. And for that alone, it is worth watching.

2 Comments

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