The Legislative Council in the northern Indian state of Uttarkhand approved a unified civil code in the state controlled by the country's ruling nationalist Indian People's Party. The law includes regulations governing issues of marriage and divorce, land ownership and inheritance, and other community and family laws.
The provisions of the law will not apply to members of the tribes, most of whom are Hindus who are governed by their own personal status laws. Hindu extremists claim that the Indian Constitution obliges the Indian state to enact a unified Civil Code, even though the state is not obligated to implement it.