Seva: Koenraad Elst says proceed slowly on UCC

All kinds of pampletteers are climbing out of the woodwork to call for policies which amount to banging your head against the wall. For instance, some say "bring an anti-conversion bill". Such a bill will do nothing at all to stop conversions (fact: in China, the Christian mission is very illegal yet very very successful), but it will provide a strong weapon to the enemies of Hinduism. If you are a mission agent, or if you are a mouse-clicking internet Hindu out to vent his emotions, then do call for an anti-conversion bill: it will hurt Modi's and Hinduism's reputation and speed up conversions. But if you are in it for Hindu victory, then proceed more intelligently.


Similarly, some people propose to make use of the unexpected parliamentary majority to implement a Common Civil Code, abolishing the present anti-secular system of religion-based Civil Codes, most prominently the Shari'a (Islamic law) for the Muslim community. This is desirable in the long term, and it is secular par excellence, for by definition, secular states have equality before the klaw of all citizens regardless of their religion. But getting there is difficult. Islamic preachers all over India will call for resistance, as this is an attack on the heart of Islam (which sees itself as a total system: theologgy, politics and the law are intimately related). Large-scale riots will follow, and the media are more than ever ready to pin the blame on the Hindus.


Moreover, this is not an issue that Hindus lose any sleep over: premodern Hindu society had different laws and customs for different Hindu communities (e.g. the alleged "Hindu" custom of widows' self-immolation was confined to the Rajput and allied castes and shunned by most Hindu castes) and naturally extended this legal pluralism to foreign communities with yet different law systems. A Common Civil Code is not a Hindu but a secular demand, and Hindus should not take the blame for the fall-out of what ought to be a reform by the secularists. So, do embark on a course leading to a ommon Civil Code, but proceed slowly and carefully. Among other things, convince the secularists that this should be their own baby, and that it is up to them to sway Muslim public opinion in favour of a modern law system.

http://koenraadelst.blogspot.com/2014/05/what-not-to-do-for-brandnew-hindu.html

His is a moronic suggestion -- don't listen to him.