Uttarakhand to implement UCC from January: CM Dhami

With this, Uttarakhand will become the first Indian state to enforce the UCC.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Dhami announced on Wednesday, December 18, that the state will implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) from January 2025.

With this, Uttarakhand will become the first Indian state to enforce the UCC.

Dhami, in an X post, called the move “historic” and “a milestone in the direction of strengthening social equality and unity.”

“Taking a historic step towards making Uttarakhand just and equitable, we have decided to implement the Uniform Civil Code from January 2025. Today, in the UIIDB meeting, necessary instructions were given to the officials on this subject. Under the successful leadership of the respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, Uttarakhand is rapidly moving towards becoming the first state in the country to implement the ‘Uniform Civil Code’. While on one hand this step will prove to be a milestone in the direction of strengthening social equality and unity, on the other hand, our state will also emerge as a pathfinder for other states,” Dhami’s X post read.

This is not the first time Dhami proposed to implement the UCC in the state. On August 2023, Dhami, while speaking on the theme “Growing Uttarakhand, Rising Uttarakhand” had said that Uttarakhand was witnessing a “demographic change that has to be checked.”

“There should be a uniform law for every citizen in the country. It has been the demand of the people. Uttarakhand is all set to make the beginning. Under the Constitutional provisions, we will implement the UCC in the state within this year,” Dhami had said.

The UCC Bill was passed in the Uttrakhand Assembly in February this year. On March 23, President Droupadi Murmu gave her nod for the implementation.

On June 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly advocated for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). He said that the minorities were being ‘misled’ by the Opposition parties on the issue.

What is Uniform Civil Code?

UCC in simple terms can be described as ‘one nation, one law’. It is a legal framework that proposes to replace personal laws of different religions regarding marriage, divorce, inheritance or succession and adoption.

It is important to note that, unlike civic and criminal laws which are the same for all citizens, UCC focuses on personal laws as they are governed by various religions.

BJP’s pursuit of UCC implementation

The BJP has backed the UCC implementation since the party was formed. Late BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee called out the Muslim community for its hesitation to embrace UCC. In a Parliament session, Vajpayee stated that with changing times, Islamic countries had amended personal laws, and questioned why could not it happen in India.

“The makers of our Constitution suggested UCC for a purpose. With time, many Islamic nations around the world have amended their personal laws. Yet, India has not found the political space to reason with the minority groups to codify Muslim or Christian Personal laws for the larger well-being of the nation,” he had said.