This worksheet engages with the constitutional history behind Article 44 of the Constitution of India: ‘The State shall endeavour to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India’.
Curriculum: BCI (law courses in India); VTU (engineering courses in Karnataka)
Subject(s): Constitutional Law (BCI); Professional Ethics and Human Rights (VTU)
Chapter(s): Directive Principles of State Policy Website Guide
Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a proposed standardised law regulating all aspects of family or personal laws, such as marriage, divorce, adoption, guardianship and child custody, maintenance, inheritance and succession applicable to all persons irrespective of religion, faith, caste or any other factors.Some argue that UCC will address the issue of social injustice (especially women’s rights) and can be used as a tool to achieve social and legal reform. Others disagree and believe that UCC will ruin plurality and diversity of religious and customary practices.
The worksheet encourages students to familiarise themselves with the constitutional history of the Uniform Civil Code through resources available on the ConstitutionofIndia.net website. Educators can guide students on how to access the Assembly Debates, Historical Constitutions, Constitution Framers Biographies and the Search tool on the website to help them solve the worksheet. The aim of the exercise is to locate the relevant Assembly Debates on the Uniform Civil Code, explore the biographical details of the Constitution Framers involved in these debates and identify the key arguments that frame the debate.
