Saturday, October 21, 2006

Indian Muslim Personal Law Board

Sunday, September 10, 2006
indian muslim personal law board

Muslims in India are Governed by The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.[14]. it directs the application of Muslim Personal Law to Muslims in a number of different areas mainly related to family law which includes marriage, Mahr(Dower), Divorce, Maintenance, Gifts, Wakf, Wills and Inheritance.[15] The courts generally apply the Hanafi Sunni law, with exceptions made only for those areas where Shia law differed substantially from Sunni practice.
Although the Indian constitution provided equal rights to all citizens irrespective of their religion, Article 44 recommended a Uniform civil code. The attempts by successive political leadership in the country to integrate Indian society under common civil code was strongly resisted and is still viewed by Indian Muslims as an attempt to dilute the cultural identity of the minority group of the country. All India Muslim Personal Law Board was established for the protection and continued applicability of ?Muslim Personal Law? i.e. Shariat Application Act in India.

Uniform civil code is a term originating from the concept of a civil law code. It envisages administering the same set of secular civil laws to govern different people belonging to different religions and regions. This supersedes the right of citizens to subject themselves different personal laws based on their religion or ethnicity. The common areas covered by a civil code include:
personal status
rights related to acquisition and admintration of property
marriage, divorce and adoption
Usage of this term is prevalent in India where the Constitution of India lays down the administration of a uniform civil code for its citizens as a Directive Principle, but has not been implemented till now. The secular Uniform Civil Code is opposed by Muslims, Christians and parties like the Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) . These are also referred to as "secularists". Those in favour of a secular Uniform Civil Code are the Bharatiya Janata Party , the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. These are also referred to as "Communalists". Thus, in India, there exists a peculiar situation where the opponents of a secular law are called "Secularists" while those in favour of a secular law are termed "communalists" or even "fascists".

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