NEW DELHI: An Indian state ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is set to introduce contentious new common personal laws that will apply across religions next week, a template other state officials say they will look to follow.

Currently, India’s Hindus, Muslims, Christians and large tribal populations can follow their own personal laws and customs, or an optional secular code, for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance.

Framing a national common law has been one of the three core, decades-old promises of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). It has fulfilled the other two: building a fiercely contested grand Hindu temple, and removing the autonomy of held Kashmir.

Uttarakhand is expected to unveil a uniform civil code bill next week

The northern state of Uttarakhand, nestled in the Himalayan foothills, is expected to unveil a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill next week, officials said. The move comes ahead of Modi’s bid to win a rare third term in general elections to be held by May, and may further help consolidate the Hindu vote, analysts say.

The UCC is a divisive issue, as many minority Muslims who criticise the BJP for its hardline Hindu-first image see it as interference with centuries-old Islamic practices.

Calling the UCC a “trial balloon” ahead of the elections, federal lawmaker and a prominent Muslim voice Asaduddin Owaisi said Hindu nationalists professed to like non-uniformity, except when it came to Muslims. Although no draft of the UCC has been presented, BJP leaders have said it primarily has to do with modernising Muslim personal laws.

A committee set up in Uttarakhand in 2022 to draft the code will submit its work to the state government on Friday. It is likely be presented to the state’s legislative body next week, two officials said.

“Several state governments across India are looking at whether a uniform civil code could be implemented,” Nalin Kohli, a national BJP spokesperson said. “The systematic process to get uniform civil code in several states has begun.” Uttarakhand’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said on social media platform X that his ministers would study the draft and “start the process to make it into a bill and then an act”.Personal laws can be legislated by both federal and state governments, and other BJP-ruled states have said they could use the Uttarakhand UCC draft as a template.

Earlier this month, BJP’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of Assam state, said: “I am waiting to see the UCC bill of Uttarakhand and once that is done, we will bring the same legislation” with some modifications.

Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister of the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, said that “wherever the BJP is (in power) the possibility of bringing UCC has been and will always be there”, adding it will introduced “at the right time”.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Slow start
Updated 15 Jun, 2024

Slow start

Despite high attendance, the NA managed to pass only a single money bill during this period.
Sindh lawlessness
Updated 15 Jun, 2024

Sindh lawlessness

A recently released report describes the law and order situation in Karachi as “worryingly poor”.
Punjab budget
15 Jun, 2024

Punjab budget

PUNJAB’S budget for 2024-25 provides much fodder to those who believe that the increased provincial share from the...
Budget and politics
Updated 14 Jun, 2024

Budget and politics

PML-N, scared of taking bold steps lest it loses whatever little public support it has, has left its traditional support — traders — virtually untouched.
New talks?
14 Jun, 2024

New talks?

WILL this prove another false start, or may we expect a more sincere effort this time? Reference is made to the...
A non-starter
14 Jun, 2024

A non-starter

WHILE the UN Security Council had earlier this week adopted a US-backed resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza...