The Assam government introduced the Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026 [2], in the state legislative assembly on Monday.
The move seeks to replace community-specific personal laws with a single legal framework for marriage, divorce, and inheritance. This legislation signals a growing push by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to standardize civil laws across different religious and social groups in India.
Assam is the third BJP-ruled state to table such legislation [1], following similar efforts in Uttarakhand and Gujarat. The bill proposes a comprehensive overhaul of personal laws, including a strict ban on polygamy and the standardization of the legal marriage age [3, 4].
Under the new proposed rules, the registration of both marriages and live-in relationships would become compulsory [3, 4]. These measures are intended to create a uniform legal status for domestic partnerships, and ensure greater legal protections for individuals within those unions.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed the assembly regarding the scope of the law. He said that the bill does not apply to all residents of the state. "Tribals will be kept outside the purview of UCC in line with similar provisions in Uttarakhand and Gujarat," Sarma said [1].
By excluding tribal communities, the government aims to preserve the customary laws and cultural practices of indigenous groups, a strategy previously employed in the other two BJP-led states that adopted similar codes [1, 3]. The bill now moves toward further legislative review and debate within the assembly.
“Assam is the third BJP-ruled state to table such legislation”
The introduction of the UCC in Assam reflects a broader political strategy to centralize personal law, which has historically been fragmented by religion and custom in India. By mirroring the models of Uttarakhand and Gujarat, the Assam government is testing the viability of a national standard while attempting to mitigate potential unrest among tribal populations by granting them specific exemptions.
