Opinion by Editorial
It threatens to bring the state into relationships it has no place in
In its imposition of a patriarchal, cookie-cutter understanding of relationships, it infantilises consenting adults and yokes their choices, freedoms and privacy to a state-determined notion of acceptability.
Feb 1, 2025 06:49 IST First published on: Feb 1, 2025 at 06:49 IST
Even before it was passed by the state assembly in February 2024, it had been apparent that Section 378 of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand, which sets the terms for live-in relationships for those in and from the state, is a solution in search of a problem. Now, a 16-page form that requires, among other things, proof of previous relationships and a clearance certificate on marriage eligibility from a religious leader, and involves the prospect of a jail term for failure to register the initiation or termination of a live-in relationship shows the alarming extent of state intrusion into the most intimate corners of citizens’ personal lives. In its imposition of a patriarchal, cookie-cutter understanding of relationships, it infantilises consenting adults and yokes their choices, freedoms and privacy to a state-determined notion of acceptability.
Along with the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370, the UCC has been a core plank of BJP politics. In December 2024, Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the UCC would be implemented in all BJP-ruled states. There has already been a reiteration of similar intent in Rajasthan. But in a country as diverse — and as fractured — as India, such an exercise needs thought and empathy, not a top-down imposition that brushes aside all concerns of minorities. At the launch of the UCC portal this week, Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that the provisions for live-in relationships were meant for protection, not intrusion: “Through UCC, we aim to ensure that an Aaftab never commits brutality against our daughters or sisters like Shraddha Walkar,” referring to the 2022 murder of a young woman by her partner in Delhi. It is a flawed and illogical argument. Hard cases make for bad laws.
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At the inauguration of the 38th National Games in Dehradun on January 28, the Prime Minister underlined the foundational principle of equality that has guided the vision of the UCC and its promise of dignity for the state’s women: “It has the same spirit as sports, as sportsmanship prevents discrimination.” And yet, one of the most disconcerting implications of its prescription is its very potential for discrimination. The idea that the state can legislate the dynamics of private partnerships — how they begin, end, or are recognised — is an affront to the fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution. It also signals a disturbing disregard for the hard-fought right to privacy. In a nation that aspires to women-led development, that professes “sabka saath, sabka vikas”, an invasive model that seeks to school the nuance and complexity of Indian society into submission, that stands to kindle prejudices, is a dangerous precedent.
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