India's Uttarakhand state cabinet has approved the Uniform Civil Code Bill. The bill is scheduled to be tabled in the Assembly session on Tuesday. There is no doubt about the passing of the bill. If passed, Uttarakhand will be the first state after India's independence to introduce a uniform civil code.
The draft of the bill that has come forward, it is said that the same law will be introduced for people of all religions regarding marriage, divorce, inheritance of property. However, tribals are excluded from the Uniform Civil Code. They can continue following their customs. About 3 percent of the people of Uttarakhand belong to tribal communities.
According to the 2011 census, there are 1.47 lakh Muslims in Uttarakhand. About 14 percent of the state's population is Muslim. So far there has not been much response from the Muslims. However, Uttarakhand Congress president Karan Mahara said, "There is an attempt to increase the conflict between Hindus and Muslims."
Modi did not make this law in central government. By passing this law in a small state, you will say that the BJP has made a uniform civil code. After the polls will be in all states. This is the weapon of the vote.
What is in this bill
The draft of this bill has not yet come forward.
A five-member committee headed by Justice Ranjana Desai submitted a report on the matter to the state government. That report was also not published.
However, sources say that Uttarakhand will not have separate personal laws or civil rules for different religions. There will be one law for all. Uttarakhand's proposed Uniform Civil Code bans polygamy.
Indian Express says in their report, if this bill becomes a law, Halala, Iddat like triple talaq will be prohibited and will be considered a crime.
The age of marriage will be the same for all religions, 18 for women and 21 for men. All marriages must be registered. Even if you are in a live-in relationship, it must be registered. Men and women shall have equal rights in the matter of divorce.
If the husband dies, the wife will get compensation. She has to take the responsibility of maintaining her husband's parents. If the woman remarries, the parents of the previous husband will also have to pay their share of the compensation she was getting.
Men and women shall have equal grounds and equal opportunities for divorce.
The committee's proposal also included a proposal to fix the number of children. But the central government is going to make a committee in this regard. So this issue is probably being left out of the draft bill.
Uttarakhand first
Uttarakhand is going to be the first state after India's independence, where Uniform Civil Code will be implemented. Uniform Civil Code is in force in Goa. But it is the Portuguese Civil Code, which has been in place since long before independence. There is no question about BJP's majority in Uttarakhand. As a result, there is no doubt about the passing of this bill.
Now some BJP-ruled states like Gujarat have taken the initiative to have a uniform civil code like Uttarakhand. The central government has also asked the Law Commission to report on the matter. The report of the Law Commission is also likely to be submitted in the near future.
Union Minister Arjunram Meghwal said, "The Central Government will think about this after submitting the report of the Law Commission." Some states in India like Uttarakhand are looking to enact this law. They also have that power.
Why are the tribals left out?
According to veteran journalist Ashish Gupta, 'Uniform Civil Code is undoubtedly a good idea. But uniform means one law for all. Why are the indigenous people excluded? Is it looking at the vote?'
Ashish said, "The three tribal-dominated states of the Northeast—Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya—opposed the Act. So the tribals had to be excluded from the scope of this law. So this law was made targeting Muslims before the polls?'
