Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 welcomed the passage of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Assam Bill in the state assembly, declaring that every person across all religions in Assam — barring Sixth Schedule tribal areas — will now be equal before the law in civil matters. The Chief Minister also thanked all NDA legislators for their support of the legislation.

Context

Posting on X, CM Sarma stated: 'Today, with the passage of the #UCCAssam bill, every person from every religion across any region of Assam (except 6th Schedule areas), will be equal before the law in terms of these civil matters.' He added that he thanked 'all NDA legislators for wholeheartedly supporting this crucial Bill.'

The passage marks a significant legislative moment for Assam, making it one of the early states to enact a state-level Uniform Civil Code following Uttarakhand, which became the first Indian state to do so in February 2024.

Policy Backdrop

Article 44 of the Indian Constitution (1950) places a Uniform Civil Code among the Directive Principles of State Policy, directing the State to secure a common code governing civil matters — including marriage, inheritance, and related personal law — for all citizens regardless of religion.

The BJP included UCC implementation in its national election manifestos of 2014 and 2019. Uttarakhand's UCC, enacted in early 2024, provided the first working state-level template and set a precedent that Assam has now followed. The Assam bill applies to residents across faiths but explicitly carves out Sixth Schedule autonomous tribal districts, consistent with long-standing constitutional protections for tribal customary laws in the North-East.

Stakeholders and Impact

The bill directly affects Assam's diverse population, which includes Hindu, Muslim, Christian and other religious communities governed by different personal law regimes for civil matters. Under the new law, a single civil code will apply uniformly across these communities in non-Sixth Schedule regions of the state.

The Sixth Schedule exemption preserves the autonomy of tribal communities in districts such as those under the Bodoland Territorial Council and other autonomous councils, whose customary practices remain protected under the Constitution. CM Sarma, who also serves as convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), has consistently positioned the move as a step toward formal legal equality rather than cultural uniformity.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the framing of rules and administrative mechanisms required to operationalise the UCC Assam law on the ground. Legal challenges before courts are a possibility, as has been the pattern with major personal-law reforms in India.

Observers will also watch whether other BJP-governed North-East states within the NEDA framework move toward similar legislation, and whether the central government uses Assam's experience to inform any future national-level UCC push.