The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is neither suitable nor useful for a vast multi-religious country like India.
The Muslim board said the UCC was antithetical to the fundamental right to practice religion as enshrined in the Constitution.
"India is a multi-faith country, and every citizen is guaranteed to practice and profess his faith and religious beliefs, and to act on and preach the same.
Uniform Civil Code is neither suitable nor useful for such a vast multi-religious country like India. Any attempt in this direction is discordant with the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution," the AIMPLB said in a resolution passed on the second and final day of its 27th public session.
The government should not attempt to impose the Uniform Civil Code directly or indirectly, partially or fully, the board said in a statement, adding doing so would be totally unacceptable.
The AIMPLB also tried to draw the government's attention towards insult of Prophet Muhammad by some mischievous persons", and lamented that the government failed to take any step, which could possibly act as a deterrent.
"This attitude of the communal forces is totally unacceptable. This amounts to causing discord in the country and runs counter to the interests of nationalism and patriotism, it said.
It added that any insult to Prophet Muhammad is bound to hurt feelings of Muslims world over and tarnish the image of the country.
It demanded punishment to those who showed disrespect to the holy figures from the government, and also a legislation to tackle the issue.
The board also asked the government and judiciary to refrain from interpreting holy scriptures, saying only religious authorities were eligible to do that.
This amounts to encroachment upon the religious rights of the citizens, it said.
The board also said some Muslim preachers were implicated in false cases of forced conversions even when the converts never made any complaint to police about being forced.
The board expressed its concern over crimes against women in the country, and saying dowry deaths are on the rise urged the government to frame laws for safety and security of the women.
It said it is the duty of the state to protect minorities and termed as "regrettable" the damage done to temples in Bangladesh.
It called the persecution of Muslims in Tripura "deplorable".
In the public session held here on the first day (Saturday) Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadwi was re-elected as the chairman of the board.
The post of general secretary, which became vacant following the demise of Maulana Wali Rahmani, has been filled by Maulana Khalid Saifullah.
Maulana Arshad Madni filled the post of vice-president, which had become vacant following the demise of Maulana Kalbe Sadiq.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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