ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a glimpse of the obstacles to the efficacy of the constitution, the law, and the instruments of gender justice. It illustrates how precious traditions are, how deep they run, and how they are exploited by vested interests. The discussions of gender justice takes as its key referent India, a nation that places great importance on religion within its culture. For many years, Hindus had complained that Muslims had vandalized the ancient Ram temple in Ram Janmabhoomi at Ayodhya and had built Babri Masjid over the ruins. On the issue of secularism, the government took shelter in the fact that the connotation of the term had never really been specified for official purposes. Extreme right-wing Hindu nationalist organizations, such as the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, supported the glorification of sati. In 1930, the All India Women's Conference demanded a Uniform Civil Code to replace the religious codes by which the Personal Law was administered.
