India: BJP-ruled Uttarakhand to move bill for Uniform Civil Code; seeks to abolish polygamy

The north Indian state of Uttarakhand has declared it will hold a special session of the state assembly next week to pass the much-debated Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill.

The women-centric draft has reportedly proposed banning the practice of polygamy altogether. It would also govern live-in relationships and warrant their registration with the government.

The state government is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and some are predicting that the state legislature might act as a prelude to a similar regime at the national level.

The UCC bill “is to formulate one law that is applicable to all religions in matters related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption,” said a government source quoted by Indian Express.

The bill’s broader focus is on uniformity in personal laws such as marriage registration, divorce, property rights, inter-state property rights, maintenance, custody of children, etc., the sources added.

State had set up an expert committee

The government of Uttarakhand, led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, had set up an expert committee to form a draft proposal on May 27, 2022. In the run-up to the state assembly polls in 2022, the implementation of the UCC was one of the biggest poll promises of the BJP.

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The expert committee is expected to submit its final report to the government within the next three to four days.

The ongoing UCC debate in India

The ruling BJP is aggressively pushing to implement UCC on state levels, with its governments in other states—Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat—also have initiated similar measures.

The action has begun on the national level too, with the Law Commission of India already beginning a consultation on the UCC draft.

According to experts, the law will greatly benefit women, especially those hailing from Islam, overcome challenges posed by the orthodox clergy.

"Unfortunately, the clergy has miserably failed to reform Muslim personal law. This has resulted in discrimination and denial of justice to Muslim women. A genuine and affirmative UCC can address this anomaly substantially," activist Zakia Soman was quoted as saying.

However, some Muslim organisations have vigorously disputed the proposed law, amid allegations that the ruling BJP wants to strip India’s largest minority group of its religious autonomy.

(With inputs from agencies)