Leaving the Scheduled Tribes out of the Uniform Civil Code, now termed ‘secular civil code’, has been pushed not just by States ruled by the BJP but the RSS as a whole
Updated - August 15, 2024 08:40 pm IST - NEW DELHI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks from the ramparts of the Red Fort during the 78th Independence Day Celebration on August 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R. V. Moorthy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging of the issue of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), albeit now termed a “secular civil code”, may be seen as his attempt at trying to complete the third big core issue of the Sangh Parivar after the construction of a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370, but even within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), this move will not be without complications.
The Modi government has, in the past, asked the Law Commission to undertake a study of the feasibility of a UCC, and made all the appropriate noises over its desire to implement the measure. Politically, however, it faced the issue of a tribal exceptionalism, pushed not just by States ruled by the BJP but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a whole.
When the issue of the UCC came before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on law and justice, it was late BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi who declared that the UCC should not be applicable to tribal communities, which should be kept out of its purview, respecting the Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Even Uttarakhand, the second Indian State to implement a UCC, and a State that has 3-4% Scheduled Tribe (ST) population, has kept tribal communities out of the purview of its UCC law.
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Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gehlot addressing during 78th Independence day celebration at Chhatrasal Stadium on Thursday.
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in an interview to The Hindu in May this year, had justified keeping tribal communities out of the UCC. “Tribals have certain historical customs, traditions, and we need to protect them. These are not because of certain scriptures but a traditional way of living. We need to respect them and it cannot be compared with certain religious rituals that are not fundamental to that religion,” he had said.
In fact, during the second term of the Narendra Modi government, BJP-ruled States were being encouraged to implement a State-wise UCC, with Uttarakhand being the first off the block, and other States, inlcuding Gujarat and Assam, declaring that they were exploring ways and means to come up with a State-specific UCC.
The BJP mentioned the UCC as a major part of its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, and Mr. Modi’s declared intention for a “secular civil code” is seen as a signal to his party that he is still holding the line on that.
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