Move will create more animosity, says NBCC
Dimapur, November 19 : The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has made it clear to the Law commission that Nagaland will stand in total opposition to the proposed uniform Civil Code for natural reasons that such a code will only create ‘further animosities.’
The NBCC issued a statement on Saturday stating that the uniform Civil Code seeks to impose a universal civil code by codifying the cultures and religious practices of the majority. It amounts to violation of the fundamental rights of the marginalized minority peoples, the NBCC stated.
“The question which remains to be answered is, whose religious views are we imposing to others? Is India not a secular country?” the church queried.
The organization also noted that the BJP was the first political party in the country to promise to formulate a uniform civil code if elected to power. This promise, the Baptist organization stated, is not an easy task because even during British-India, the government did not want to touch this “hornet nest” because this issue touches the very fabric of the socio-religious-cultural unity in her diversities.
“We trust that India being a secular country, will not codify religious and socio-cultural practices into a single entity, thereby creates more discrimination for the marginalized who are already feeling the pinch of religious and social majority in the country?” the church wondered.
The complexity lies not only in the social and religious diversities of her citizens; it will also affect the everyday functioning of the minority communities in the country, the NBCC warned. “These are not only presumptuous fears; in reality too, the uniform civil code will certainly undermine the social and religious practices of the minorities by the dominance and intolerance of the majority.”
Secondly, the Baptist church stated, there is the ‘great need’ to ensure that “the norms of no one class, group or community dominate the tone or tenor of family law reforms” as stated by the Law Commission of India. The ideal statement to that, the NBCC stated, “holds a lot at stake, as to how do we reconcile this lofty definition in the face of each religion and culturally confines of individual community in the vast country?”
For this very reason, it stated, the Christians, especially the Nagaland Baptist Church Council, “finds itself difficult to answer the questionnaires because our faith and belief systems based on the teaching of our scriptures finds no place.”
Further, the organization reminded that instead of establishing a uniform civil code ‘to create further animosities,’ the fear and insecurity amongst the minorities in the country should be diffused by putting into action unity in diversity and peaceful coexistence which India has always stood for.
“Tolerance and respect for all regardless of religious and social affiliations must become the order of the day. Leave religion, be it Hinduism, Muslim, Christianity and Parsism or any other religion to flourish in its own terms and conditions. We assure you that no religion in its truest sense works to harm and dominate others,” the NBCC stated.
The Baptist church was of the opinion that the uniform civil code “with all its good intention” will infringe on religious liberty. “This creates suspicion and fear in the minds of the religious minority communities in our country of which Christians of all over the country are included. Our priority of the day should be elevating the oppressed, minorities and standing up for them to come in par with the rest of the mainland majority,” the statement explained.
Stating that the aim should be to create equal status for everyone as human beings, the organization stated that Christians take the dignity of human lives seriously without reservations. Therefore, any legislation for common civil code ‘that distort the equality before law and man’ cannot be tolerated.
The NBCC made clear: “We also would like to inform you that we stand opposed in totality for social, cultural and religious codification into a single entity as uniform civil code.”
