By Al Jazeera and news agencies
The northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has started implementing a common civil code to replace religious laws, a move that will likely trigger unease among India’s Muslim minority.
Addressing a news conference on Monday announcing the enactment of the so-called Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said it would bring about “equality”.
“This code is not against any sect or religion. Through this, a way has been found to get rid of evil practices in the society,” added Dhami, who belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The introduction of UCC to replace India’s patchwork of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance has been a longstanding goal of the BJP.
In February last year, Uttarakhand lawmakers passed the common civil code law, to bring about a uniform set of rules for civil relationships – including marriage, divorce and inheritance – across all religions and making the registration of live-in relationships mandatory.
Uttarakhand is the second Indian state to implement such a law. Goa is the only other state of the country that already had a common civil code, introduced when it used to be a Portuguese colony.
Although criminal laws are the same for all, different communities – the majority Hindus, the over 200 million Muslims, Christians (about 26 million) and tribal communities – follow their own civil laws, influenced by religious texts and cultural mores.
This story was originally published in aljazeera.com. Read the full story here.
