After making bold historical moves to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution and banning the practice of triple talaq among the Muslims, the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now poised for yet another masterstroke – a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for all the citizens of India. The process has already been set in motion in Uttarakhand, where the state government has announced the formation of a panel to draft a UCC. The other BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, are ready to follow the suit once such a code is introduced in Uttarakhand.
With the party ruling 12 Indian states on its own and six with allies, the BJP under Modi now occupies an undisputed dominance in India’s political landscape. Once the BJP-ruled states have prepared the ground, the stage will be ready for the Modi Government to put the UCC in place at all India levels. According to sources in the ruling establishment, the move can be expected before the 2024 General Elections, when the Modi Government will seek a third term in office.
A strong indication of this intent was given by the Union Home Minister at the party’s recent core committee meeting in Bhopal. “Issues like CAA, Ram Mandir, Article 370, and triple talaq have been resolved. Now it is time to focus on the Common Civil Code,” he said. The Home Minister said that a UCC would be implemented in Uttarakhand as a pilot project, whose draft is being prepared. “Everything will fall in order with time,” he said. Only a few days ago, in an affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court in response to a petition regarding UCC, the Modi Government had noted that people of different religions follow different personal laws related to property and marriage, which is an affront to the unity of the country. It further stated that the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code will work towards unifying India.
Significantly, if it were to push through such a law, Uttarakhand will not be the first state to do so. Goa is the only state in the country that has had a UCC since the days of Portuguese rule. In September 2019, the.
