No provision of the Uniform Civil Code would apply to Adivasis and that the law will not encroach upon the rights, customs or traditions of the Scheduled Tribe communities, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.“There is a conspiracy underway to send out the message that UCC will take away tribal communities’ traditions and way of life,” Shah said. “As the home minister of the Narendra Modi government, I am telling you clearly that UCC will not apply anywhere in tribal areas or to any tribal person. It will not encroach upon any tribal rights.”The Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religions are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scriptures.Shah made the comments at the Janjati Suraksha Samagam in Delhi, which was organised by the Janjati Suraksha Manch and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. The outfits are affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.The Union home minister said that the BJP had implemented the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand and Gujarat. The laws there have special provisions to exclude Adivasis from the Uniform Civil Code.Shah said that he wanted to send a message to those attempting to “divide” Adivasi communities.The introduction of a common personal law has long been on the BJP’s agenda and several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing it.In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code after independence. The Gujarat Assembly cleared a similar legislation on March 24 amid protests by the Opposition. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.On Monday, a bill to implement a Uniform Civil Code in Assam was introduced in the Assembly. When the draft legislation was cleared by the state Cabinet on May 13, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that the tribal population in Assam would be kept outside the purview of the Uniform Civil Code.In its campaign for the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, the BJP had mainly targeted Muslim personal law, arguing that it discriminated against women as it allows Muslim men to practice polygamy, inherit a greater share of property, initiate divorce and deny alimony.Legal experts have said that Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code is drawn primarily from Hindu personal law and could lead to the erasure of the personal law practices of minority communities.Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.