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By Sadaf Javed, 360info and Reecha Das, 360info
Efforts to address social issues risk being co-opted for political gain or used to further divisive agendas.
When the state enters people's private lives, it sets the stage for debate and discord.
In February, the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, marking the first legislation in an Indian state that proposes uniform rules for marriage, divorce, inheritance and — contentiously — live-in relationships for people across all religions.
While conversations around a uniform civil code are not new, implementing it in a diverse and culturally pluralistic society like India poses several problems. A primary criticism is its potential to stifle personal choice and autonomy.
Live-in relationships, which have gained acceptance and legal protection as a legitimate lifestyle choice, could face more regulation and surveillance under the Code. Such interference infringes upon people's rights to privacy and freedom of association and perpetuates conservative social norms that deem certain relationships morally unacceptable.
The Code must be considered in the larger, changing legal landscape where laws on conversion and "freedom of religion" scrutinise religious conversions on grounds of marriage, especially conversions to Islam.
By requiring live-in relationships to be registered and investigated by the registrar, the state is positioning itself as a guardian or parental figure, exemplified in cases like Hadiya vs. the State of Kerala.
Registering live-in relationships is part of the state's mechanism to govern love. Tedious bureaucratic processes and paperwork are the state's way of imposing upon its citizens that it is working efficiently.
Requiring couples to submit forms and subject themselves to an investigation by a state official for intending to enter a live-in relationship seems like an inconvenience not just for the couples but for the state, whose resources are stretched.
The government is motivated to do so to appear as efficiently run and position itself as a parental figure for women, especially Hindu women who it views as inherently vulnerable, incapable of making rational personal decisions and in need of protection. It also allows the state to surveil citizens, especially those in what they deemed as transgressive relationships like interfaith and inter-caste romantic relationships.
ReadFullStory https://theprobe.in/governance/uttarakhands-uniform-civil-code-breeds-an-indian-surveillance-state-4473183