Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 declared that Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), ensuring equal rights and equal justice for all residents, and noted that other states are now following the same path.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X, CM Dhami wrote: 'Devbhoomi Uttarakhand samaan nagarik sanhita laagu kar samaan adhikar aur samaan nyay sunishchit karne wala desh ka pehla rajya bana' — 'By implementing the Uniform Civil Code, Devbhoomi Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to ensure equal rights and equal justice.' He added that other states across India are now moving forward on the same path.

The remark comes as the UCC continues to be a defining policy marker for BJP-governed states. The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly had passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill in February 2024, which subsequently received gubernatorial assent, making the state the first in independent India to enact such a law.

Policy Backdrop

Article 44 of the Indian Constitution (1950) lists a Uniform Civil Code as a Directive Principle of State Policy, directing the state to endeavour to secure common civil rules for all citizens. The provision has remained largely aspirational at the national level for over seven decades, with personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption governed by separate religion-specific laws for Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others.

The BJP has carried the promise of a nationwide UCC in its election manifestos since the 1990s. Uttarakhand's legislation replaced those separate personal laws with a single statutory framework applicable uniformly to all residents of the state, regardless of religion — a move the party has held up as a model for the rest of the country.

Stakeholders and Impact

Proponents of the code argue it delivers substantive equality, particularly for women, by removing provisions in certain personal laws that critics say disadvantage them in matters of divorce, inheritance and guardianship. Religious minority groups have raised concerns about the erosion of community-specific customs and practices protected under personal law traditions.

CM Dhami's post signals that Uttarakhand views its UCC as an achievement ready for replication. Several other BJP-ruled states have publicly signalled intent to examine or draft similar statutes since Uttarakhand's passage of the bill, reviving a national debate that stretches back to the Constituent Assembly deliberations of the late 1940s.

What's Next

Attention now shifts to whether state assemblies such as those in Gujarat and Assam will introduce their own UCC bills, and whether any constitutional challenges to the Uttarakhand law will come before the Supreme Court of India. A cascade of state-level enactments could build political momentum for a future national UCC, which would require parliamentary legislation.

For CM Dhami, the post reinforces Uttarakhand's identity as a trailblazer on a flagship ideological commitment of his party — and frames the state's governance record ahead of any future electoral cycle.