Ideological promises and proposals for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) have been a contentious issue in India for decades, primarily because it involves the sensitive question of the relationship between religion and state. Seeking to replace religion-based personal laws governing marriage, divorce, inheritance, co-habitation, and other things like property rights with a common set of rules that apply to all citizens equally is a fair proposition. In India, personal laws governing marriage, divorce, and inheritance are rooted in religious scriptures and traditions. All major religious communities adhere to their respective personal laws.

Ever since the Constitution was framed, the UCC has remained an ideal, as it envisages a uniform and secular code based on equality and social justice. However, political debates on creating a common civil code and its constitutional validity from the point of view of fundamental religious and cultural freedoms have had conflicting points of view. Implementation of the UCC has been one of the BJP’s stated objectives, along with the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370. But when political motives underscore the intent behind legislating a law that is supposed to be secular and uniform for all citizens and is given an ideological colour and majoritarian assertion masked by a broad narrative of uniformity, credible concerns and questions are bound to be raised over its roll out.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently indicated that the UCC would be implemented in all 21 states governed by the NDA before the 2029 Lok Sabha election. Uttarakhand was the first state to have the UCC in force since........

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