Guwahati: The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill was passed by voice vote in the Assam Assembly on Wednesday after a five-hour debate that drew sharp resistance from Opposition parties.
The law provides for mandatory registration of live-in relationships, marriages and divorces including where one partner is a resident of the state, and bans polygamy, Hindustan Times reported.
Calling it “a watershed moment in Assam’s history”, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: “Passing of this law in Assam will be a big step towards gender justice. Many have questioned why STs have been kept out of UCC. We are aware, the tribals have been residing in India since long and they have their own customary laws regulating their lives, which provides rights to women and discourage polygamy. They have been kept outside as a mark of respect and because they already have their rules and regulations similar to UCC from long back,” said Sarma.
With the passing of the Bill, Assam becomes the third Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, to adopt a common set of laws for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and succession for all citizens.
Article 44 of the Constitution, one of the directive principles of state policy, advocates for a UCC. But respective religion-based civil codes have governed personal matters since Independence.
The BJP has been batting for a pan-India UCC for long.
Similar to the laws enacted by Uttarakhand and Gujarat, the Assam legislation also excludes scheduled tribes (STs), who comprise 12.45% of the state’s population (as per the 2011 census).
Opposition leaders said during the debate that there was no need for the law in the first place since there were laws in place to address polygamy and child marriages and that the legislation was a political stunt. The law was not truly uniform as its name claimed, because it excluded scheduled tribes (STs) from its purview and targeted Muslims, who accounted for 34% of the state’s population, they complained.
Sarma, however, responded to the criticism and said: “We had mentioned clearly in our manifesto ahead of polls that if we win, we will bring UCC… The Congress has concerns about how the Bill will affect practices followed under the Quran and the Shariat, but they haven’t mentioned once about the Bhagawat Gita or the Ramayan, which shows that the party represents just one community.”
Describing the UCC as a big step towards gender justice, he hit back at the Opposition for questioning the exclusion of tribals.
“Many have questioned why STs have been kept out of UCC. We are aware that the tribals have been residing in India for a long
time and they have their own customary laws regulating their lives, which provide rights to women and discourage polygamy. They have been kept outside as a mark of respect and because they already have their rules and regulations similar to UCC from long back,” Sarma said.
“Will we treat someone who is not ill? UCC will try to give radiotherapy and chemotherapy where the cancer exists, not elsewhere…The new law provides mandatory registration of all marriages, divorces and live-in relationships, bans polygamy, ensures equal succession rights for sons and daughters and also for elderly parents. It also acts against so-called ‘love jihad’, by ensuring that marriages and live-in relationships don’t happen through coercion or deception,” the CM added.
Rabiram Narzary of the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which is part of the ruling coalition, thanked the government for keeping STs outside its purview and sought clarity on how the new law would ensure the rights of ST women married to non-STs, if they get divorced.
Prakash Chandra Das of the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), another ruling alliance member, accused the Congress of being against women and their rights.
“By not supporting this legislation, they have again lost an opportunity to redeem themselves,” Das said.
Wazed Ali Choudhury, the Congress legislative party leader, said UCC would infringe on personal liberties, create social and religious tensions in a diverse country such as India and maintained that existing laws were enough to ensure gender justice.
Congress MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar also criticised the law and said: “This legislation was tabled in the House without wide consultations with political parties, social groups, religious bodies, organisations and the public. How can it be uniform if some are kept outside it, and how will it empower ST women if they are not included?”
“We already have laws in Assam banning polygamy, child marriages and mandatory registration of marriages and divorces. Why do we need UCC after all that? I would request the speaker to allow wide consultation on the Bill and not allow the ruling parties to pass it based on their majority. Since this Bill is not uniform and doesn’t cover all, I suggest that its name should be changed,” he added.
All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Mazibur Rahman said the implementation of UCC would violate the fundamental rights and existing legal provisions guaranteed to all including Muslims, who comprise 34.22% of Assam’s population (2011 census).
Sherman Ali Ahmed of Trinamool Congress said: “I support a few provisions of the new law like ban on triple talaq, child marriages and registration of live-in relationships. But there’s clear violation of the Quran’s guidelines related to certain marriage practices as it tries to control who one should marry, and it violates fundamental rights. I believe that UCC was brought in with malafide intention.”
There was scope of harassment by officials and that the new law infringes on personal liberties, Akhil Gogoi of Raijor Dal said.
“The Bill aims to put private relations under bureaucratic control by mandating registration of live-in relationships and issues related to it by appointing a sub-registrar who in turn will inform the local police station about such relationships,” he said.