Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the country cannot run on “two laws”, as he made a strong pitch for legislation slated to replace religious customs in a range of areas.
India, a diverse and multi-faith nation of 1.4 billion people, allows its religious communities to follow their scriptures and traditions for marriage, divorce, property and adoption.
But Mr Modi's right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has been trying to introduce the contentious Uniform Civil Code which, if passed, will apply to all religious groups.
Several communities have expressed concern that the new bill will be used to discriminate against minority religious groups.
"How is it possible for one member in a house to have one law and the other member to have another law? Will that house be able to run? How will a country run on these dual systems? We have to remember that the Constitution gives equal rights,” Mr Modi said.
The BJP has for decades campaigned for the UCC, saying that the prevailing laws are discriminatory and promote inequality.
The party has used the prospect of passing the law as an election promise in previous decades as part of its hardline Hindu ideology, and is pushing to revive the flashpoint issue ahead of the national elections next year.
Many right-wing Hindus have been championing the cause and accuse Muslims of using Islamic laws to facilitate polygamy and gender discrimination.
The Muslim community, which makes up around 20 per cent of India's population, currently uses its own religious laws to administer marriages, divorces and property.
Other minority religious communities, such as Christians, whose laws are based on Biblical scriptures, have also opposed the law, as have tribal communities in remote northeastern regions, where more than 200 tribes have their own varied customary laws.
Earlier this month, the Law Commission of India solicited views, ideas and suggestions on the UCC from the public and recognised religious organisations.
Mr Modi said that political parties that oppose the UCC are hungry for a “vote bank” and accused them of exploiting, ignoring and denying Muslims their rights.
He further spoke about triple talaq, the instant divorce in Islam that was deemed unconstitutional in 2017 – a major principle of his government – to emphasise the importance of introducing a common code.
“Those who speak in favour of triple talaq are hungry for vote banks. They are doing a huge injustice to Muslim daughters and sisters", he said, adding that the practice had been abolished in other Islamic countries. "If it was related to Islam, then no Islamic nation would have abolished it.”
“I was in Egypt, 90 per cent of the population are Sunni Muslims and it abolished the practice some 90 years ago. If it is an essential organ, then why is it not practiced in Pakistan, Indonesia, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, Bangladesh?”
“We are seeing that work is being done to instigate such people in the name of Uniform Civil Code,” he said.
Several opposition leaders lashed out at the Prime Minister, accusing him of distracting people from “real issues” in the country, such as the months-long ethnic violence in Manipur, where more than 100 people have been killed since May.
“He should first answer about poverty, price rise and unemployment in the country. He never speaks on the Manipur issue; the whole state is burning for the last 60 days. He is just distracting people from all these issues,” KC Venugopal of the Indian National Congress said.
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Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)
Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14
Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)
Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31
Bangla Tigers win by six wickets
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
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Available: Now
More on animal trafficking
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
