Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the country cannot run on “two laws”, as he made a strong pitch for legislation slated to replace religious customs in a range of areas.
India, a diverse and multi-faith nation of 1.4 billion people, allows its religious communities to follow their scriptures and traditions for marriage, divorce, property and adoption.
But Mr Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has been trying to introduce the contentious Uniform Civil Code which, if passed, will apply to all religious groups.
Several communities have expressed concern that the new bill will be used to discriminate against minority religious groups.
The party has used the prospect of passing the law as an election promise in previous decades as part of its hardline Hindu ideology, and is pushing to revive the flashpoint issue ahead of the national elections next year.
Many right-wing Hindus have been championing the cause and accuse Muslims of using Islamic laws to facilitate polygamy and gender discrimination.
The Muslim community, which makes up around 20 per cent of India’s population, currently uses its own religious laws to administer marriages, divorces and property.
Other minority religious communities, such as Christians, whose laws are based on Biblical scriptures, have also opposed the law, as have tribal communities in remote northeastern regions, where more than 200 tribes have their own varied customary laws.
Earlier this month, the Law Commission of India solicited views, ideas and suggestions on the UCC from the public and recognised religious organisations.
