Lucknow, Jul 5 (PTI) The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Wednesday said it has sent its objections on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to the Law Commission and demanded that tribals and religious minorities be kept out of the purview of such a statute.

The working committee of the Board had approved the draft response prepared on UCC in the executive meeting on June 27 and, on Wednesday, it was presented for discussion in the virtual general meeting of the Board, the spokesman of the Board, Kasim Rasool Ilyas, told PTI.

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This report was unanimously approved, after which it has been sent to the Law Commission, he said.

In a statement, the Board gave several arguments in support of its stand.

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"National integrity, safety and security and fraternity are best preserved and maintained if we maintain the diversity of our country by permitting minorities and tribal communities to be governed by their own personal laws," the statement issued by the office secretary of the Board, Mohammad Waquaruddin, said.

It said that the fundamental religious book of Muslims, "being the holy Quran, Sunnah, fiqh (Islamic law) in the form of religious texts, which are matters of articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, mandate its believers to follow the injunctions and the same are non-negotiable terms.

"Personal relationships of Muslims, guided by their personal laws, are directly derived from the holy Quran and Islamic laws and this aspect is linked with their identity. Muslims in India will not be agreeable to lose this identity of which there is space within the constitutional framework of our country", the statement said.

It said they were making this submission for multiple reasons because though the issue is purely legal, it has been fodder for politics and media-driven propaganda.

This matter becomes further important because this Commission's predecessor had examined the very same issue and reached a conclusion that UCC is neither necessary nor desirable, the statement said.

Within a short span, it is surprising to see the successive commission were again seeking public opinion without there being any blueprint as to what the commission intends to do, it said.

Discussing the existing legal paradigm, the representation states, "We are placing these facts to point out that the religious principles and customary and tribal exemptions that have been reflected in the existing statutes show the inalienable position of the dominant religious group and customs that cannot be dispensed with in such codes."

The statement also said that the exercise of analysing the scope and nature of a prospective UCC can only be done by analysing the existing family laws - both general and personal.

The AIMPLB draft analysed the existing civil laws and came to the conclusion that existing general/ uniform family laws are not truly uniform, even existing codified community based laws are not uniform.

"Mere projection of uniformity is not a valid ground for uprooting the established systems of laws governing personal matters of different religious communities when even the established general and supposedly uniform laws are not entirely uniform in nature and cites examples," it said.

The Law Commission had given time till July 14 to various parties and stakeholders to file their objections to the UCC.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had earlier requested to extend the time by six months.

Ilyas said that around 250 out of 251 members of the Board attended the meeting in which they were asked to present their views against the UCC personally before the Law Commission and encourage their relatives, friends and others to do the same.

The AIMPLB is of the view that not only tribals but every religious minority should also be kept out of the purview of UCC, he said.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee on law and BJP MP Sushil Modi had on Monday advocated keeping tribals, including those in the North East, out of the purview of any likely Uniform Civil Code (UCC) at a meeting of the panel, according to sources.

Ilyas said, "The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has always been against the UCC. It is of the view that imposing only one law in the name of UCC in a country like India, which consists of people belonging to multiple religions and cultures, is a violation of democratic rights." T

The AIMPLB is a prominent Muslim non-governmental organisation formed in 1973 with the objective of protecting and promoting the application of Islamic personal law among Muslims in India.

The Law Commission initiated the fresh consultation process on the Uniform Civil Code by seeking views from stakeholders, including public and recognised religious organisations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently made a strong pitch for bringing UCC and alleged that the Opposition is using the issue to mislead and provoke the Muslim community.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)