UCC implementation in Assam: Muslim organisations seek consultations with government

Muslim religious and social organisations have urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Assam government to heed their views before implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the draft UCC Bill would be tabled in the 126-member House on May 26, the concluding day of a special Assembly session that commenced on May 21. The purpose of the UCC is to enforce a single, unified set of personal laws governing marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption for all citizens, regardless of faith.

Leaders of at least 10 organisations met in Guwahati on Saturday (May 23, 2026) and resolved to submit a memorandum to the government seeking consultations before the proposed legislation is introduced.

The organisations included two factions of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami, Ahle Sunnat, Muslim Personal Law Board, Nadwatul Tamir, Milli Council, and the All Assam Minority Students’ Union.

Nadwatul Tamir organisational secretary Maulana Farid Uddin Choudhury, who chaired the meeting, said the State government should not ignore stakeholders from the minority community before going ahead with such a major decision.

“The matter is directly linked to Islamic religious practices and personal laws, necessitating wider consultations with minority religious and social organisations before any legislative move,” Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, senior advocate and president of Assam Civil Society, said.

Implementing the UCC was one of the BJP’s promises for the April 9 Assembly elections. Soon after taking an oath as the Chief Minister for a second consecutive term, Mr. Sarma said his government would introduce a law in this regard.

He, however, said that the tribal population and communities under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution would be exempted from the purview of the UCC to protect their customs and traditions.

Reading out the new government’s five-year vision in the 126-member House on May 22, Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya said the UCC would strengthen social harmony, justice, gender equality, and a modern, progressive society.