India: Christians Uneasy Concerning Their Rights and Faith

The Constitution of India states that the state shall endeavor to develop a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for its citizens. For 75 years, the project has been cautiously left aside by successive governments, in order to avoid fueling religious tensions, which were already very high.

The religious minorities – notably Christian, but also Muslim – fear that a unified code will, above all, reflect the practices of the majority Hindu religion, at the expense of the particular laws and customs of other numerically smaller religions in the country.

Narendra Modi does not seem to have the same prudence as his predecessors. Eager to run for a third consecutive term in the 2024 general elections, India's current strongman has relaunched the idea of a single civil code.

At each national election, the Prime Minister uses the Brahmastra – in Sanskrit, “divine weapon” – to seduce an electoral base with a strong Hindu identity: thus, putting the question of the UCC back on the table to get rid of the legal vestiges of the Portuguese, and especially British, colonizers seems to constitute a good political tactic, even if it could ignite the powder.

In the nationalist press, they are already rejoicing over a reform which, if it were to be completed, would make it possible to “decolonize Indian family law.” “The British wanted to assert the superiority of their culture and their law: their reforms led to the introduction of Victorian morality. … This is an artificial colonial relic,” says the Times of India.

Still on the Hindu side, it is estimated that the adoption of a UCC will make it possible to fight against “gender inequality” of which the Christian religion would be one of the vectors through its refusal of divorce, a refusal which “lowers” women to the rank of simple “property of her husband.”

The Catholic side remains discreet for the moment: “It is too early to make comments because we have not even received a precise text regarding the draft code. We have assembled a committee of experts who are to write their report and we will take a clear position based on it,” says Fr. Jacob Palackappilly, spokesperson for the Kerala Conference of Bishops (KCBC).

But the concern is there: “Although the Church, in principle, understands and appreciates the government's attempts to unify its legal corpus, she believes that all stakeholders must be consulted in order to alleviate the fears of minorities. The fear is that the UCC reflects a majority approach,” explains Fr Nigel Barrett, spokesperson for the diocese of Mumbai.

The question of a possible new statute on marriage raises questions with the priest: “The Church, while striving to follow the civil code, cannot modify the essence of the sacrament of marriage, particularly in areas of indissolubility and unity.” In this context, “a civil divorce cannot automatically lead to an annulment or dissolution of marriage in the Church due to its sacramental nature,” insists the priest. That is what is at stake here.

For Sabrina David, the UCC risks undermining the unity of the country: “India is a melting pot of cultures and traditions, and the single civil code risks destroying this unity in diversity.” For the jurist, a unified code will “interfere with the laws of the Church where marriage is considered a sacrament and not a simple natural contract.”

But if Christians are not to be feared, it will perhaps not be the same for Muslims who will be forced to abandon certain provisions of sharia – for example concerning the legal age of marriage – in the event of adoption of the single code. The reaction could be violent. By choosing to bring up the question of the UCC, the head of the Indian government is walking on egg shells.