Editing Jawaharlal Nehru (section)

====Hindu code bills and marriage laws====
Under Nehru, the Indian Parliament enacted many changes to [[Hindu law]] through the [[Hindu code bills]] to criminalise [[caste]] discrimination and increase the legal rights and social freedoms of women.<ref>{{Cite journal |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=165–194 |last=Som |first=Reba |title=Jawaharlal Nehru and the Hindu Code: A Victory of Symbol over Substance? |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |date=February 1994 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00011732 |jstor=312925 |s2cid=145393171}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |page=3|isbn=978-81-86706-49-7 |quote=The Hindu Code Bill was visualised by Ambedkar and Nehru as the flagship of modernisation and a radical revision of Hindu law ... it is widely regarded as dramatic benchmark legislation giving Hindu women equitable if not superior entitlements as legal subjects. |last=Basu |first=Srimati |title=She Comes to Take Her Rights: Indian Women, Property, and Propriety |year=2005|url={{Googlebooks|mXgX8rrW6JsC|page=PA3|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> The Nehru administration saw such codification as necessary to unify the Hindu community, which ideally would be a first step towards unifying the nation.<ref>Williams, p. 107.</ref> They succeeded in passing four Hindu code bills in 1955–56: the [[Hindu Marriage Act]], [[Hindu Succession Act]], [[Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act]], and [[Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act]].<ref>Williams, p. 106.</ref>  Those who practise [[Sikhism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Buddhism]] are categorised as Hindus under the jurisdiction of the Code Bill.<ref>{{cite book |last=Uppal |first=N. |title=Narcissus or Machiavelli?: Learning Leadership from Indian Prime Ministers |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-000-41480-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRswEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |page=48}}</ref>

Nehru specifically wrote Article 44 of the Indian constitution under the [[Directive Principles of State Policy]] which states: "The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." The article has formed the basis of secularism in India.<ref>Erckel, Sebastian (2011). ''India and the European Union – Two Models of Integration'', GRIN Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-656-01048-7}}, p. 128</ref> However, Nehru has been criticised for the inconsistent application of the law. Most notably, he allowed [[Muslim personal law in India|Muslims to keep their personal law]] in matters relating to marriage and inheritance. In the small state of [[Goa]], a civil code based on the old Portuguese Family Laws was allowed to continue, and Nehru prohibited Muslim personal law. This resulted from the [[annexation of Goa]] in 1961 by India, when Nehru promised the people that their laws would be left intact. This has led to accusations of selective secularism.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Minhaz|last=Merchant|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/nehrus-noble-intent-of-treating-muslims-fairly-put-india-on-slippery-slope-of-faux-secularism/489174/|title=Nehru's noble intent of treating Muslims fairly put India on slippery slope of faux secularism|date=27 August 2020|access-date=15 August 2021|work=[[ThePrint]]|archive-date=23 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823155854/https://theprint.in/opinion/nehrus-noble-intent-of-treating-muslims-fairly-put-india-on-slippery-slope-of-faux-secularism/489174/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Routledge |page=328 |quote=One subject that particularly interested Nehru was the reform of Hindu law, particularly with regard to the rights of Hindu women ... |last=Kulke |first=Hermann |author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India|url={{Google books|TPVq3ykHyH4C|page=PA328|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-32919-4}}</ref>

While Nehru exempted Muslim law from legislation and they remained unreformed, he passed the [[Special Marriage Act]] in 1954.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Vaibhav|last=Purandare|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/uniform-code-nehru-okayed-principle-but-didnt-make-it-a-directive/articleshow/60183225.cms|title=triple talaq: Uniform code: Nehru okayed principle, but didn't make it a directive|date=23 August 2017|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[The Times of India]]|archive-date=16 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216055158/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/uniform-code-nehru-okayed-principle-but-didnt-make-it-a-directive/articleshow/60183225.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The idea behind this act was to give everyone in India the ability to marry outside the personal law under a [[civil marriage]]. In many respects, the act was almost identical to the [[Hindu Marriage Act, 1955]], demonstrating how secularised the law regarding Hindus had become. The Special Marriage Act allowed Muslims to marry under it and keep the protections, generally beneficial to Muslim women, that could not be found in the personal law. Under the act, [[polygamy]] was illegal, and inheritance and succession would be governed by the Indian Succession Act, rather than the respective Muslim personal law. Divorce would be governed by secular law, and maintenance of a divorced wife would be along the lines set down in civil law.<ref>{{Cite web|first1=Zakia|last1=Soman|first2=Noorjehan|last2=Niaz|url=https://thewire.in/religion/why-triple-talaq-needs-to-be-abolished|title=Why Triple Talaq Needs to Be Abolished|date=17 June 2016|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727053221/https://thewire.in/religion/why-triple-talaq-needs-to-be-abolished|url-status=live}}</ref>