GUWAHATI: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said that the time has come for implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as envisaged by the founding fathers of the Constitution.
Article 44 of the Constitution clearly states that the state shall endeavour to secure the UCC for its citizens across the country, Dhankhar said while addressing the 25th convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.
“This was the thought process of the founding fathers. The time has come for its implementation and there can be no rationale for impediment or further delay”, he said.
The framers of the constitution were certain that the Directive Principles were fundamental in the governance of the country which reflected in the duties of the state to apply these principles in framing laws, he said.
‘Following this premise, I am stunned at the reaction of some people when there is an effort to implement the UCC. Political stakeholding cannot be at the cost of the nation and nationalism,’ he said.
The UCC is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation and gender. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.
‘The underlying sublimity of this has to be appreciated and understood as this will bind the nation more effectively. If there is further delay in UCC implementation, it will be corrosive to our values,’ the Vice-President said in his speech.
Politicians can practice the politics they want but there has to be a ‘common denominator within the frame and respect for the nation and nationalism’, Dhankhar added.
The country has reached a phase when the impact of its development is being felt globally and so it is the ‘prime duty of all to be proud of being Indians along with our historical achievements’, Dhankhar said.
India is home to one-sixth of humanity and the country’s human resources are creating a global impact, he said at the convocation.
He urged the students who will be soon contributing to the economy to be committed to ‘economic nationalism and not compromise it for fiscal gains’.
‘I believe in the global trade mechanism but our economy should not be bled by foreign powers. The youth should create an ecosystem where economic nationalism will flourish,’ he added.
Besides, no foreign entity can be allowed to tweak the sovereignty, reputation or create a dent in the country’s constitutional institutions, he said.
‘We are the largest, oldest, most vibrant and functional democracy that is giving stability to global peace and harmony. It is, therefore, a matter of concern that with periodic frequency and in a strategic mode, there is an orchestration of anti-national narratives with the objective to tarnish and dent this anti-Bharat narrative,’ he said.
It is high time the choreographers of this narrative are rebuffed and “this can be done by young and trained minds who carry the tag of prestigious institutions like the IIT-G”, the Vice President said.
During the last nine years, the country has witnessed transparency and accountability in governance along with the policy of zero-tolerance, he said.
People have realised that the hand of the law is long but there are some who have held office of power or constitutional office who when accused of corruption take to the streets instead of taking judicial recourse, he said.
He urged people to develop the capacity to discern, realise what is right or wrong and not to observe silence as this can prove to be ‘very costly for the nation’.
Altogether 2011 students received their degrees during the convocation. They include 816 B.Tech and B.Design, 659 M.Tech and M.Design and 298 PhD students.
The Vice President and his wife Sudesh Dhankhar planted a Rudraksha and a Brahmakamal sapling at the IITG campus.
