15 July 2023

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. India’s unification can be further via the adoption of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which will provide a common platform for diverse communities. However, this could infringe someone’s right to freely practise their religion. Critically analyse.

Paper & Topic: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

• The Supreme Court has underscored the importance of UCC by ruling in support of the maintenance of a hurt non-Muslim divorcee in the contentious maintenance case of Mohammad Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum. A universal civil code would promote national unification, according to the court, by removing diverse allegiances to laws with competing philosophical ideas.
• In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), Chief Justice SM Sikri remarked that a UCC “is essentially desirable in the interest of the integrity, and unity of the country” but recognising that no court may require the Government to create a uniform civil code.
• The Shariat Application Act of 1937, which controls the Indian Muslim community, omits rules on critical topics including consent, the legal age for marriage and divorce, child custody and guardianship, women’s inheritance rights, and polygamy. As a result, personal laws contradict gender justice and equality. Child weddings continue to be a frequent practise as a result.
• Currently, there are personal laws based on certain religions, thus while Muslims in India are permitted to remarry, Hindus or Christians will suffer legal repercussions if they do the same. Indians should all receive the same treatment. This doesn’t seem to be an equal situation. In terms of marriage, inheritance, family, property, and other legal considerations, all Indians should be accorded equal protection under the law.

Arguments against implementing UCC:

• Infringement on the right to practise one’s religion: UCC’s critics say that it might transgress the constitutionally protected right to practise one’s religion. Religious organisations are able to uphold their own set of personal laws thanks to this privilege. A good illustration of this is Article 25, which grants each religious collective the freedom to autonomously conduct its internal affairs while Article 29 safeguards their right to protect their specific cultural inheritance.
• Threat to cultural variety: One of the criticisms levelled at the Uniform Civil Code is the rich cultural diversity of India. Opponents claim that a uniform code could erode the diversity that each person’s personal laws convey because they are unique to various religious traditions and cultures. They argue that the UCC will result in a uniform legal system, which would be incompatible with India’s multiethnic culture.
• In order to ensure gender equity, the 21st Law Commission emphasised the importance of updating family laws in all religions, as opposed to relying exclusively on the adoption of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Instead of legislation, the emphasis should be on the consistency of rights. The conversation focussed on the consistency of rights rather than legislation. The Commission said that while discriminatory practises may occasionally occur where disparities exist, they are more often an indication of a strong and functioning democratic system.
• The Uniform Civil Code, according to experts, might potentially impose a code that is influenced by Hindu practises in all groups, which might lead to the imposition of majoritarian religious practises. A Uniform Civil Code example might contain provisions dealing with family conflicts over property succession. These clauses would impose legal responsibilities on other civilizations to adhere to them and might be congruent with Hindu customs.
• Given the current state of India’s personal laws, significant awareness-raising efforts are required to change them. These initiatives ought to be driven by the communities themselves. It is advisable to transition from a diverse civil code to a uniform one gradually. it, if the Indian government wishes to implement UCC, it should do it gradually.

Q2. The adage “Water is a basic necessity that must be provided to all households” is accurate. In this context, discuss the main tenets of the Jal Jeevan Mission. What challenges prevent the programme from being implemented successfully?

Paper & Topic: GS II – Water-related issues

• The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the government’s flagship effort, aims to raise the standard of living in rural regions by ensuring that every rural home has a stable, long-term supply of drinking water of the requisite quality in an adequate quantity. By 2024, Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC), a project that began in 2019, hopes to provide 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household.

The defining traits of Jal Jeevan Mission are as follows:

• The Mission’s overarching objectives include providing FHTC to every rural home as well as community development, schools, Anganwadi centres, health centres, and wellness centres.
• FHTC distribution should be prioritised in Sansad Adarsh Gramme Yojana (SAGY) villages, communities in desert and drought-prone areas, and other areas where quality of life is affected.
• To promote and guarantee voluntary ownership within the community by accepting donations of cash, products, services, labour, and/or volunteer time (shramdaan).
• Bulk water transfer, treatment facilities, grey water management, and distribution networks as required serve every rural household. By removing contaminants, technical methods can solve poor water quality.
• It is essential to empower and develop the human resources in the industry in order to satisfy the demands of construction, plumbing, electrical, water quality management, water treatment, catchment protection, etc.
• to increase understanding of the value of safe drinking water, its various dimensions, and effective ways to involve stakeholders in making water everyone’s business.

Challenges the task overcame to carry out its task successfully include:

• While the pandemic delayed the mission’s completion, the Ukraine war significantly reduced the availability of steel and cement, both of which are necessary for the creation and attachment of metal pipes. As a result, there were significant price modifications, and it took a while to renegotiate contracts and improve supplies.
• State-specific issues: In some places, it could be quite difficult to find enough experienced labourers to build tanks, cisterns, and water lines of sufficient quality. Water may be hard to come by in some states, like Rajasthan. Both West Bengal and Kerala are concerned about water pollution.
• Due to the presence of groundwater contaminants including fluoride, arsenic, and other heavy metals in 18 states, the JJM will have a tough time delivering adequate water quality.
• Different cultural practises: Depending on cultural customs in various parts of the country, the requirement for water differs from village to village. JJM needs to be modified to satisfy these regional specifications.
• Growing demand-supply gap: As the nation’s economy and population both grow, so does the demand for water. The restricted supply of water and conflicting demands, however, have made managing drinking water a challenging issue. The growing demand-supply gap is made worse by other challenges such groundwater depletion brought on by excessive extraction, poor recharge, inadequate storage capacity, irregular rainfall brought on by climate change, etc.
• Communities vary in the number of habitation settlements per unit of land; some are more densely populated than others. The capital cost per person will vary as a result. To provide FHTC to every home, JJM must take into account these trends in settlement.
• Several Indian states, particularly Kerala and those in the northeast, are at risk of flooding, while western provinces like Gujarat and Rajasthan experience droughts. To ensure reliable water distribution during severe natural disasters or seasonal hazards, it is crucial to implement enough regional-level infrastructure projects in support of JJM.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission is a significant government social sector effort with the goal of enhancing rural life across the country. How the plan develops in the future should be heavily influenced by strong and flexible decision-making at the lowest levels, coordination among the various entities, increased efforts by a few States, and the support of initiatives in related sectors like agriculture, waste management, and sanitation. The mission’s successful completion will aid India in fulfilling the SDG 6 objectives.