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Mizoram Chief Minister Zuramthanga on Tuesday wrote to the Law Commission of India (LCI) that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) runs counter to the interests of ethnic minorities in general and those of the Mizos in particular.
Zoramthanga, who is also the head of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), said his party believes UCC is in conflict with the religious and social practices of Mizo and their customary laws protected by Article 371(g) of the Constitution.
The MNF is a component of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Northeastern Democratic Alliance (NEDA), which is the regional version of the National Democratic Assembly.
Zoramthanga’s statement came days after Meghalaya Chief Minister Konrad K Sangma, whose NPP party is also a member of NEDA, asserted that the UCC “in its present form” is against India’s idea.
“Since the proposed implementation of the UCC throughout the territory of India is contrary to the religious and social practices of the Mizos and their customary law/personal law which is specifically protected by constitutional provisions, the said proposal of the NDA government at the center can be seen in the notice of the Law Commission that cannot be Accept it,” Zoramthanga said in his post.
Last month, the Legal Committee issued a public notice inviting views from various stakeholders on the UCC under the topic of “Reviewing Personal Status Laws.”
The prime minister said that the MNF supports the policies and programs of the NDA government in the center as long as it finds them beneficial to the public in general and especially to the ethnic minorities in the country.
Zoramthanga also said that Section 371(G) of the Constitution provides that no law of Parliament regarding Mizo religious or social practices, customary law and procedure, land ownership and transfer, shall not apply to Mizoram unless the state legislature by a resolution so decides.
Zoramthanga informed the Legal Committee that the Mizoram Assembly had issued an official resolution on 14 February opposing any step towards enactment of UCC law in the country.
The said resolution was conveyed, debated and then unanimously adopted by the State Assembly on the grounds that the WCC, if enacted, “would lead to the disintegration of the country because it was an attempt to end religious or social practices, customary laws, culture and traditions of religious minorities, including That miso,” he said in the letter.
Meanwhile, the Mizoram Kohran Haroitot Committee, a group of bodies of church leaders in the state, wrote to the Union Law Commission that it strongly opposes UCC implementation in the country.
In its letter, the committee alleged that the CCC harms unity in the diversity of Indian culture, religions and customs and undermines the rights and privileges of the Mizos enshrined in Article 371(g) of the Constitution.
The Nagaland Tribal Council had also written late last month to the Legal Commission that the UCC, if implemented, would dilute the provisions of Section 371A of the Constitution which provide for state-specific provisions.
The Unified Civil Code aims to replace personal status laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with a single general law for all, regardless of religion, sect, creed, sexual orientation, and gender. Personal status laws and laws relating to inheritance, adoption, and succession are likely to be covered by common law.
Implementation of the UCC was part of the BJP’s electoral manifestos.
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