India’s ruling BJP eyes new law for common civil code but is it fanning Hindu-Muslim divide?

BJP hopes to introduce a law in Uttarakhand state for a common civil code including for marriage but critics are concerned about religious tension

Analysts say the new law, which has been on top of the agenda of right-wing Hindus, will only seek to assert the dominance of Hindus over Muslims

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India’s Bharatiya Janata Party supporters celebrate after Uttarakhand state lawmakers passed a uniform marriage law for all religions. Photo: AP

Published: 7:30pm, 8 Feb 2024Updated: 8:18pm, 8 Feb 2024

India’s ruling party appears set to introduce a contentious law in Uttarakhand state for a common civil code including for marriage, igniting concerns over religious and communal tensions centred on a Hindu-Muslim divide.

The move by Uttarakhand, which is likely to be the first state to pass the law, comes ahead of national elections and two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), inaugurated a temple at a disputed site in Ayodhya.

The BJP, in power in the federal government and Uttarakhand state, is expected to woo Hindu voters to seek a third consecutive mandate.

Hindu devotees wait to enter the Hindu god Lord Ram temple after its inauguration in Ayodhya. Photo: Reuters

India’s 1.4 billion people are subject to a common criminal code that was introduced during the British colonial era, but have been governed by a patchwork of different codes based on customs of different communities and faiths.

The demand for a common civil code has been a core pledge of the BJP, which proposes to unify various laws governing marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption that govern different communities and faith based on customs.

“This law is of equality, uniformity and equal rights. There were many doubts regarding this, but the two-day discussion in the assembly clarified everything,” the state’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.

“This law is not against anyone. It is for the women who have to face difficulty because of the social norms,” he said.