ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to briefly present both the evolution of India’s postcolonial personal law system and the ambiguity continuously lying at its heart: preserving India’s diversity and minority rights as an integral part of its national social fabric, while at the same time directing its policy toward the elaboration of a uniform civil code. In doing so, the chapter begins with a historical outlook on the origins of India’s personal legal system, to then turn on the conundrum facing the founding fathers of the Indian constitution about its reform, the international legal pressures it faces and both the legislative and judicial reforms it underwent in the past 75 years since India’s independence, as well as the enduring role customary law plays within the different judicial fora.
