In DNA on Wednesday, we will speak about a Bill in France which at this time has become the biggest news worldwide. This Bill, Reinforcing Republican Principles, has been passed in the lower house of France and was originally called antis-separatism law. It means a new law to curb religious fundamentalist forces and separatists.
READ | French Assembly passes bill designed mainly to counter rise in Islamism
The word Islam has not been used anywhere in this law, but it is being said that religious fundamentalist forces here mean Islamic fundamentalism because France is troubled by Islamic fundamentalist forces these days. The aim of this law is to stop religious fundamentalism, take people away from the path of separatism towards the path of development and create a safer and more secure environment. To achieve these objectives, France is also ready to confront the radical forces.
You can also call it the first such law in a rapidly changing world that will make secularism truly marital and also prevent religious fundamentalism from growing. The most important thing is that there is a lesson for India in this law which is if there is no such law in India, which is facing religious fundamentalism and terrorism, then the consequences can be serious. India can learn a lot from the law.
Let us tell you 10 big things about this French law. Firstly, if a person said that a medical examination of his wife or child will not be done by a male doctor or if a man forces a girl for marriage or marries more than one, then this law has a provision for fine of about Rs 13 lakh. According to Sharia law, any Muslim can marry four people but now France has banned it.
Secondly, this law has added a provision in the name of Samuel Paty, due to which it is also being called Samuel Paty Law. Under this, if a person shares personal information related to a government employee and officer on social media, then he will be fined about Rs 40 lakh and there is a provision of three years in jail.
Samuel Paty was a French teacher who was murdered in October 2020. He had shown some controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed to some students of his school discussing the right of expression, after which a student of the school gave this information to his family and later he was murdered by a boy of 18 years. The killer came to France at the age of 6 from Chechnya, a province in Russia, as a refugee and was named Abdullah Anzorov.
Thirdly, all citizens have to respect France’s secularism. Fourthly, if a person scares any French government official or public representative and forces him to go against the secular values of France, he will be imprisoned for five years and fined about Rs 65 lakh rupees.
Fifthly, if a person wants to teach his children at home, then he has to take permission from the French government and also give a concrete reason for this. Sixthly, government representatives will ensure that there is no gender discrimination in sports. For example, earlier there was a separate swimming pool for girls and separate for boys but the French government will no longer allow it.
The seventh point, under this new law, all religious institutions in France will have to inform the government about the donations received from abroad. If the funding is more than Rs 8 lakh, then they will have to tell this to the government and if they do not do so, the French government will stop giving financial assistance to such religious institutions from the country.
The eighth point, the different groups and institutions that receive special support from the government will have to sign an agreement. Under this agreement, they have to respect the constitutional and secular values of France. The ninth point, in religious institutions, such speeches will not be made, which cause conflict and disharmony between two communities.
Lastly, those who will be accused of being involved in terrorist activities in France, such people will be banned for 10 years for participating in religious institutions. There is one more thing related to this law. There will now be a ban on the display of religious symbols in France. Until now, Muslim women could not wear burqas and hijabs to French government offices but now under this law, private companies will also come under its purview.
Europe is the continent of the world where history has been made. The first and second World War started in Europe itself. The countries of Europe have been at the centre of the Cold War and now for the first time, France, a country in Europe, has also announced to wage war against religious fundamentalism from its land. Understand here today as to why France have to do this?
There are two big reasons for this, the first is the refugees from other countries and the second reason is the increasing incidence of radical Islamic terrorism in France.
First of all, let us tell you about the first reason. France never reviewed its open borders tradition, which led to a large number of refugees settling in France from other countries. In 2012, when the civil war in Syria was at its peak, the number of Muslims seeking asylum in France reached one lakh each year.
The number of Muslims seeking asylum in Europe increased significantly during the period 2015-16 when the terrorist organisation ISIS captured several areas of Iraq, Syria and Libya. In 2017, a record one and a half million people took refuge in France and by 2019, this number had become two lakhs. With the help of this graph, you can understand this difficulty of France. Not only France, many countries of Europe welcomed the refugees openly in the race to look secular and gave refugees a place in their countries to settle. But later these same people started challenging the constitutional and secular values of France and other European countries.
The second reason is the increasing incidence of radical Islamic terrorism in France and at the root of these incidents are the same Muslim refugees, for whom France never closed its borders. But later it came to understand that it was a big mistake. There have been 10 major terrorist attacks in France in the last five years and more than 250 people have died in these attacks.
On January 7, 2015, there was a terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris. In this attack, 12 innocent people were killed. Charlie Hebdo is a Weekly Magazine in France and his office was attacked for printing the controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed. On November 13, 2015, there were many planned terrorist attacks in France in which 130 people were killed. On July 14, 2016, a terrorist in a city of Nice in France, trucked a crowd in which 84 people died.
On October 3, 2019, a policeman shot and killed three police officers and a civilian. On October 16, 2020, a teacher named Samuel Paty was killed by a separatist. There is a big lesson for India in the new law of France, but to understand this, it is necessary to first tell you what are the similarities between India and France and we will explain this in five points.
Firstly, both India and France are secular and democratic countries with large Muslim populations. Secondly, Muslims constitute 9 per cent of the total population of France, while in India this number is 13 per cent. Thirdly, India and France are two such big countries in the world, where the population of Muslims is increasing rapidly. Fourthly, terrorism is a big problem for both India and France. Finally, radical and separatist organizations want to destroy the constitutional structure of both India and France.
The demand to implement the Uniform Civil Code in India from time to time will also give equal rights to all citizens of the country in a similar way. If the Uniform Civil Code is implemented, then the different religious laws that run in our country in the name of religious freedom will end and the promise of the Constitution to give citizens equal rights will be fulfilled. However, the road to the Uniform Civil Code in India seems very difficult but if India wants, by considering the new law of France as a template, it can lay the foundation of the Uniform Civil Code.
The need of the hour is that in democratic countries the Constitution should be given more importance than religion and people should swear to the constitution first and then follow their religion. However, there is also a challenge for India and that today if India brings a law like France in the country, then protests will start immediately in the country and roads will be taken hostage in the name of agitation. If India defends its secular values like France, it seems very difficult to do so.
A big reason for this is that the leaders of our country do not seem more mature about secularism. In India, politics is done only in the name of secularism. Today in our country secularism has become part of the manifesto of political parties and is confined to the speeches of the leaders. India should adopt a French-like approach towards secularism, but it is unfortunate that it seems very unlikely in our country.
In France, people belonging to Muslim communities have now started opposing this law and they allege that this law will limit their right to religious freedom. French President Emmanuel Macron is also being criticized for this. The law that Macron has brought against religious fundamentalism has just passed in the lower house. It is yet to be discussed in the Senate, although it is expected that it will be passed by a majority in the Senate as well.
The lower house of the Parliament of France has a total of 577 seats out of which only 498 MPs were present in Parliament during voting on this bill. Of these, 347 MPs voted in support of the bill while 151 MPs voted against it. One of France’s biggest opposition parties, the National Rally, has opposed this law and the head of this party, Marine Le Pen, has said that the law brought by the Macron government is too weak. Pen is not against the basic spirit of this law, but she wants a strong law against religious fundamentalism.
There is another aspect behind this protest and that the Presidential elections are going to be held in France in 2021. In such a situation, this law can prove to be very important for Emmanuel Macron. The issue of refugees with religious bigotry is also in the news before the presidential election in France. According to a study by Pew Research Centre, if the pattern of refugees coming to Europe continues like this, by 2050, the demography of Europe will change completely. In France alone, the Muslim population will increase from 9 per cent to 18 per cent.
Let us tell you about the French Revolution in 1789. Between 1700 and 1789, the population of France had increased from two crores to three crores and because of this, the problem of unemployment, hunger and inflation took a terrible form. In protest against this, the people of France fought against the monarchical power, abolished it and started modern democracy. After this, most countries of the world took inspiration from France and established democracy and fundamental rights. Today, 232 years after the revolution of 1789, when the world is plagued by violence in the name of religion, at this time, the new law of France can guide many countries.
France has made arrangements to curb the intolerance of the ‘tukde tukde’ gang with the help of law in their country. But on the basis of this, if India enacts such a law, then it will not be allowed to be implemented as this gang does not believe in the law of the country. The sedition law that Parliament has created to maintain national integrity is being questioned today.
