Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys, has hailed Uttarakhand’s move to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), calling it a historic moment for India. “A great day for India. Finally, after 75 years of our republic, the promise of equality for all, equal laws for all, and equal rights for all women is happening,” Pai said. He congratulated Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for pioneering the initiative and urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to follow suit.
On January 27, Uttarakhand will become the first state in India to implement the UCC, a move aimed at ensuring equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens. Chief Minister Dhami described the implementation as a step toward bringing uniformity in society and eliminating personal civil laws that discriminate on the basis of caste, religion, or gender.
“The Uniform Civil Code is just an offering made by our state in the great 'yagya' being performed by the prime minister to make the country a developed, organized, harmonious, and self-reliant nation,” Dhami stated in a statement on Sunday (January 26). The UCC will regulate personal civil matters, including marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance, creating a uniform legal framework across the state.
The UCC Act was notified on March 12, 2024, after receiving presidential assent, and Dhami had promised to implement it in January 2025 as part of Uttarakhand’s silver jubilee celebrations. The state cabinet recently approved the rules and regulations for its implementation, making registration of all marriages and live-in relationships mandatory.
The UCC has been a long-standing agenda of the BJP, but Uttarakhand is the first state to take concrete steps toward enacting it. Dhami referred to the initiative as “the Gangotri of UCC” that would eventually spread to the rest of the country.
The implementation of UCC marks a significant milestone for Uttarakhand, fulfilling a major promise made during the 2022 assembly polls. It also sets a precedent for other BJP-ruled states to consider similar legislation, potentially reshaping personal laws across India.