A draft on personal laws that will apply to all religions was submitted on Tuesday by an Indian state headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. The regulations include a prohibition on polygamy and equal inheritance rights for sons and daughters.
Despite criticism from some Muslim leaders, the proposed measure in Uttarakhand, a northern state along the Himalayas, is likely to be used as a blueprint by several other states held by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as part of a long-standing vow.
Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, stated on X social media that “the Constitution inspires us to seek equality and harmony and the commitment to implement the Uniform Civil Code law will act as a bridge towards that” before introducing the bill in the assembly to a vociferous cheer from some opposition members.
The bill, which was examined by Reuters, also suggests raising the legal age of marriage to 21 for girls, giving men and women equal rights regarding divorce and inheritance division, and granting full rights to children who were adopted, born out of wedlock, or conceived through surrogate pregnancies.
While the dominant Hindu community has been marrying off daughters after they turn 18, according to a legal expert working on the Uttarakhand UCC bill, Islam’s Sharia laws do not forbid the marriage of minor girls.
The new clauses in the law, which is expected to pass easily because the BJP has a sizable majority in the state house, have excluded several indigenous people.
At the moment, marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance are governed by the separate personal laws and customs of India’s Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and sizable indigenous groups, as well as an optional secular code.
One of the three main pledges made by the BJP, which is running for a third consecutive term in the general elections that are scheduled for May, is the drafting of a national common law. The other two have been fulfilled: erecting a highly contentious, opulent Hindu temple and taking away Jammu & Kashmir’s autonomy.
Muslim scholars view the new laws as a challenge to religious customs such as polygamy and Islamic Sharia law.
A member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board named Kamal Farooqui declared, “Modi’s government is determined to destroy diverse practices.” “UCC is just another proof that they are imposing a majoritarian agenda.”
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