Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday reiterated his opposition to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), stating that its implementation is neither practical nor appropriate in a country as culturally diverse as India.
His remarks come as Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the UCC while exempting tribal customs from its purview.
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While acknowledging that certain aspects of civil laws could be made uniform, Sangma stressed the need to protect indigenous rights.
He argued that imposing a uniform legal framework on all communities would not be feasible, given the unique traditions of tribal and indigenous groups.
“A Uniform Civil Code, as a concept to ensure complete uniformity, is not possible in India,” Sangma stated. “There are tribal and indigenous communities with distinct practices, and enforcing uniformity in all aspects of life would be inappropriate.”
He further illustrated his stance with an example: “If a bill at the national or state level mandated a matrilineal system across India, Meghalaya would support it because we follow that tradition. It all depends on what aspects are being made uniform and in what manner.”
The Meghalaya government has made it clear that implementing UCC is not on its agenda, reaffirming its commitment to respecting the diverse identities of tribal communities and safeguarding their traditional practices.
Sangma’s remarks come amid ongoing national debates on the UCC, with Assam expressing interest in following Uttarakhand’s lead. Notably, a tribal council in Meghalaya had passed a resolution two years ago opposing the UCC in areas under its jurisdiction.
The UCC in Uttarakhand seeks to standardize personal laws governing marriage, divorce, inheritance, and succession, applying to all residents except Scheduled Tribes and certain protected groups.
