Uniform Civil Code through the backdoor
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah's declaration that a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented across all 21 BJP-ruled states ahead of the 2029 parliamentary elections is clearly part of a calculated strategy to impose the RSS's hardline Hindutva agenda on the nation. Although the saffron brigade's declared objective was to introduce and pass the UCC Bill in the current Lok Sabha itself, that could not be realised as the BJP failed to secure an absolute majority on its own. Key allies supporting the government — such as Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — do not favour the BJP's push. In fact, JD(U) has already openly opposed Amit Shah's announcement. Nitish Kumar's party, which shares power with the BJP in Bihar, had its National General Secretary state outright that the party will not implement the UCC in the state. Under these circumstances, Amit Shah has no option but to reassure the majority community by proclaiming that the Uniform Civil Code will be enforced at least in BJP-ruled states. How practical this promise remains, however, is a serious question. NDA-ally-governed Northeastern states like Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Sikkim are unlikely to come to terms with a Uniform Civil Code.
Even in Uttarakhand — the first state in the country to pass the UCC in its assembly, secure presidential assent post-haste, and declare its implementation — indigenous tribal communities were exempted from the purview of the law. This stands as an admission at the very first step that the obsession with a Uniform Civil Code is fundamentally impractical. The motivation to loudly proclaim this RSS agenda despite such realities stems from sheer anxiety over media analyses and opinion polls, which consistently signal potential defeats — including in Yogi Adityanath's UP, where assembly elections are due next year. The compulsion, after all, is to consolidate upper-caste Hindutva votes by any means possible.
Also read: Omar Abdullah questions Centre’s UCC plans, says NDA allies oppose move
The global oil crisis, shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, and natural disasters are causing inflation in essential commodities, suffocating the common people. In international financial transactions, the value of the Indian Rupee is plunging to rock bottom. The youth and student agitation that began at Jantar Mantar has robbed the Modi government of its sleep and continues to spread into new areas by the day. Having to bow before the student protests and force Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan out of the Union Cabinet ignited anger among RSS cadres — a turmoil that is keeping the Modi-Amit Shah duo sleepless. Following the announcement of the delimitation exercise aimed at increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats, the Modi government has been unable to soothe the legitimate anxieties of South Indian states regarding a potential drop in their proportional representation. The situation is significantly dimming the BJP's prospects in the country's south. The hasty announcement to implement a Uniform Civil Code appears to be an attempt to divert attention from all these pressing issues.
However, it is worth remembering that even the Law Commission constituted by the Modi government had pointed out in its report that a UCC was neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. It is evident that the family code attempted in Uttarakhand is not the Uniform Civil Code envisioned under the Directive Principles of the Constitution. If the Union Government intends to reform the constitutionally valid Muslim Personal Law, what it should have done was present a draft civil code to the nation that remedies defects and ensures equal justice for both men and women. If the intent were bona fide, the path forward would have involved letting a democratic society deliberate on it before passing the bill with appropriate amendments once it reaches Parliament. That, however, is not what the hardline Hindutva proponents desire. If Mohan Bhagwat — who claims in America that Hindus, Muslims, and all others live peacefully in his country — wants his assertions to carry even an ounce of credibility, he must counsel the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah team to act with good sense and restrain his followers who take pleasure in the constant physical and mental harassment of religious minorities.
