Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said there was “no need to fear the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)” and that there was a “conspiracy” being hatched by spreading misconceptions about it.
Addressing the Gangati Sanskritik Samagam – a gathering of members of various tribes at the Red Fort to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda – Shah said the UCC provisions would not conflict with the customs of tribal residents, who would be given exemptions.
“…I want to make it absolutely clear as Home Minister in the Narendra Modi-led government that no restrictions of the Uniform Civil Code will be applied to the tribal population. UCC will not infringe on any rights of the tribals… There is a conspiracy being carried out to project that UCC will deprive the tribals of their ways of life and traditions.”
The development comes amid renewed debate over UCC, which refers to a common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession, which apply to all citizens regardless of religion. Currently, different religious sects in India follow separate personal laws.
Article 44 of the Constitution states that the State shall endeavor to secure a uniform civil code throughout India.
The Union Minister added that UCC has been implemented in two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states – Uttarakhand and Gujarat – but tribals have been kept out of these provisions. “UCC has been implemented in two BJP-led government states in Uttarakhand and Gujarat. Our government has made special provisions to ensure that tribals stay out of UCC… These people who are trying to create divisions, I want to tell them that UCC will not interfere in any traditions of tribals.”
He urged participants to spread the message in villages and forests back home. “Take these messages to the villages, forests and mountains. Make them realize that there is no need to fear UCC,” he added.
Shah also noted the progress made by the government in its fight against Naxalism. “Our government has eradicated the five-decade-old issue of Naxalism. We can say that the country is now free of Naxalism. They have thwarted the development of the tribals and will kill more than 40,000 tribal people at their hands,” Shah said. “Now is the time to develop these tribal areas,” he added.
