RSS' 100th anniversary: 'It would be a very good thing if...,' says Mohan Bhagwat on UCC
Uttarakhand was the first state in the country to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on January 27 last year.
- Feb 24, 2026,
- Updated Feb 24, 2026 9:34 AM IST
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday made a huge statement on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying that it should be implemented across India on the lines of Uttarakhand.
“It would be a very good thing if the UCC is implemented… It would be good if it happened across the country. I believe it should be implemented in this way (like in Uttarakhand)," he said at the former servicemen's event to mark the 100th anniversary of the RSS.
Uttarakhand was the first state in the country to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on January 27 last year.
Terming the UCC as important for unifying the society, he said that the draft proposal for the code in Uttarakhand was open for public discussions, and it drew suggestions from 3 lakh people.
Furthermore, he said that a common law should govern the people of one nation. Bhagwat emphasised that the code should be formulated by taking all sections of the society, including Muslims and Christians, into confidence, so there is no majority vs minority divide.
"When people talk about the Uniform Civil Code, they usually talk in the context of Hindus and Muslims. But that is not all. (When such a code is implemented) There will be a change in customs of all communities, including Hindus."
He added that there should be an attempt to bring a consensus among society for UCC while taking into account the diversity of the country.
"This has also been suggested by those who drafted the constitution that the government should take the country in that direction... that it figures out what kind of a code there should be, how to convince the society in its favour and then enforce it."
How was UCC implemented in Uttarakhand?
The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has officially reshaped the state’s legal landscape, evolving from a 2022 expert-led drafting phase—which incorporated over 2.33 lakh public suggestions—into a fully operational framework following Presidential Assent in March 2024. This unified code replaces diverse personal laws with a singular system that mandates the registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships via a dedicated digital portal, while specifically exempting Scheduled Tribes to protect their customary rights.
Beyond administrative changes, the UCC enforces gender parity in inheritance, grants legitimacy to children born of live-in unions, and strictly prohibits practices such as polygamy and nikah halala. Most recently, on the first anniversary of its enforcement in January 2026, the state government further tightened the law through the UCC (Amendment) Ordinance, which introduced stricter penalties for misrepresenting one's identity at the time of marriage and streamlined the procedural "Rules" for day-to-day implementation.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday made a huge statement on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying that it should be implemented across India on the lines of Uttarakhand.
“It would be a very good thing if the UCC is implemented… It would be good if it happened across the country. I believe it should be implemented in this way (like in Uttarakhand)," he said at the former servicemen's event to mark the 100th anniversary of the RSS.
Uttarakhand was the first state in the country to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on January 27 last year.
Terming the UCC as important for unifying the society, he said that the draft proposal for the code in Uttarakhand was open for public discussions, and it drew suggestions from 3 lakh people.
Furthermore, he said that a common law should govern the people of one nation. Bhagwat emphasised that the code should be formulated by taking all sections of the society, including Muslims and Christians, into confidence, so there is no majority vs minority divide.
"When people talk about the Uniform Civil Code, they usually talk in the context of Hindus and Muslims. But that is not all. (When such a code is implemented) There will be a change in customs of all communities, including Hindus."
He added that there should be an attempt to bring a consensus among society for UCC while taking into account the diversity of the country.
"This has also been suggested by those who drafted the constitution that the government should take the country in that direction... that it figures out what kind of a code there should be, how to convince the society in its favour and then enforce it."
How was UCC implemented in Uttarakhand?
The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has officially reshaped the state’s legal landscape, evolving from a 2022 expert-led drafting phase—which incorporated over 2.33 lakh public suggestions—into a fully operational framework following Presidential Assent in March 2024. This unified code replaces diverse personal laws with a singular system that mandates the registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships via a dedicated digital portal, while specifically exempting Scheduled Tribes to protect their customary rights.
Beyond administrative changes, the UCC enforces gender parity in inheritance, grants legitimacy to children born of live-in unions, and strictly prohibits practices such as polygamy and nikah halala. Most recently, on the first anniversary of its enforcement in January 2026, the state government further tightened the law through the UCC (Amendment) Ordinance, which introduced stricter penalties for misrepresenting one's identity at the time of marriage and streamlined the procedural "Rules" for day-to-day implementation.