Pulling no punches, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said today that the controversial Uniform Civil Code (UCC) goes against the very “idea of India”.
Speaking as president of the National People’s Party (NPP), Sangma said that “India is a diverse nation and diversity is what our strength is.”
The UCC has been worrying those in Meghalaya who fear that it will threaten aspects of the unique cultures of the indigenous tribes.
Driving his point home, Sangma said, “From a basic concept point of view, we are a matrilineal society and that is our strength. It is our culture and cannot be changed for us.”
This uniqueness extends to the whole of the North East in different ways and deserves to be protected, he added.
Although he wants to be able to see the actual content of the UCC before giving his final verdict, the very idea of one civil code “does not go with the entire idea of India being a diverse nation and diversity being our strength and identity. That is what the NPP feels.”
Members of the public will bear in mind, however, that what Sangma says now may be in contrast to how his party acts later. Although the CM spoke out against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Meghalaya four years ago, his sister and Tura MP ended up voting for it in Parliament.
