Muslims 7% and tribals 21%; Then why were tribals kept out of UCC in Madhya Pradesh?

Preparations to implement Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Madhya Pradesh are in their final stages. The bill related to this was presented in the Assembly today, which will be discussed tomorrow. The debate regarding UCC in the country often revolves around the personal law of Muslims, but the case of Madhya Pradesh is completely different. The Muslim population in the state is about 7%, while the tribal population (ST) is more than 21%. Despite this, Madhya Pradesh’s UCC draft has completely kept tribal communities (STs) as well as nomadic and semi-nomadic communities out of the scope of this law. After all, what is the reason for keeping such a large population of the state out of UCC and how different will this draft of Madhya Pradesh be for the general public? Let us understand this in detail…

The real reason for keeping tribals out of UCC

Madhya Pradesh is the state with the highest tribal population in India. Out of total 230 assembly seats in the state, 47 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). That is, the tribal community is a decisive factor politically and socially. But the main reason for keeping tribals out of UCC is their deep cultural roots rather than politics.

There are many traditional practices related to marriage and family in tribal society, which are completely different from Hindu or Muslim laws. For example..

• Dapa practice: In this, the groom’s family pays the bride price to the bride’s family, which is completely opposite to the dowry system.
• Bhageli and Lamsena: In these practices, loving couples run away from home and get married, which later gets the recognition of the society.

If UCC were imposed on tribals in Madhya Pradesh, these centuries-old tribal traditions would be in danger, which could lead to large-scale protests. The Constitution also gives special freedom to the Scheduled Tribes to follow their traditional customs and customary laws. To avoid this conflict, the central and state governments decided that there would be no interference in the affairs of tribals. Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also clarified that the tribal communities of Assam will also be kept out of the purview of UCC.

How different is MP’s draft from Uttarakhand and Gujarat?

The draft of UCC in Madhya Pradesh is largely based on the Uttarakhand model. Its command is with the same high level committee, whose chairperson is former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. Justice Ranjana had prepared the draft for Uttarakhand and Gujarat.

However, the MP draft has been made very easy for the general public. Reducing legal complexities, the number of 100 complex legal provisions related to succession has been reduced to just 30.

What will change for common people when UCC is implemented?

If UCC is implemented in Madhya Pradesh, there will be widespread changes in the society. Uniform law will apply to all religions (except tribals).

• Marriage and Divorce: Marriage registration will be mandatory. The minimum age of marriage and divorce rules will become the same for all religions.
• Live-in Relationship: It will be mandatory for live-in couples to register themselves within 30 days. There is a provision of jail and fine for not doing so.
• Ban on polygamy: The freedom to perform more than one marriage given under the personal law of any religion will be completely abolished.
• Equal Property Rights: Daughters will get equal rights as sons in ancestral property, which is not yet implemented equally in many communities.

UCC’s journey so far in India

Goa is the only state in the country where UCC is already in force on the basis of the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867. Uttarakhand became the first state in independent India, which passed the UCC bill in February 2024 and implemented it in the state on 27 January 2025. Subsequently, in March 2026, Gujarat also passed it in its state (where tribals were exempted). Now Madhya Pradesh is going to become the next state in this series.

The main objective of UCC is to establish a secular and equal civil law system in the country. The Law Commission of India has also said many times that there should be uniformity in the laws. Madhya Pradesh government’s decision to keep tribals out is an example of smart governance. With this, the government will also achieve its goal of ending the evil practices related to polygamy and women’s property rights and there will be no harm to the cultural identity of the tribal society.

Also read: ‘I am fine, let CJP go to the protest’… Sonam Wangchuk wrote a letter