Should tribal customary practices be excluded from a Uniform Civil Code? Critically analyse with reference to recent state UCC Bills.

Article 44 directs the State to secure a uniform civil code, yet every state code enacted so far carves out Scheduled Tribes. Rajasthan's Cabinet-cleared UCC Bill, 2026 keeps tribal customs outside its scope [1], making this carve-out a settled legislative practice that deserves scrutiny.

The case for exclusion

• Constitutional design: STs notified under Article 342 enjoy protected autonomy through Part X and the Fifth and Sixth Schedules; Uttarakhand's UCC Act, 2024 exempts them in Section 2 itself [2].
• Replicated across states: Gujarat's UCC, 2026 similarly does not apply to STs and groups whose customary rights are constitutionally protected [3] — the Rajasthan draft follows the same template [1].
• Social legitimacy: tribal marriage, clan and succession norms are community-administered rather than scriptural; codification risks alienation in Scheduled Areas and disputes over custom-linked land inheritance.
• Expert caution: the 21st Law Commission (2018), in its consultation paper on Reform of Family Law, held a UCC "neither necessary nor desirable at this stage", preferring targeted removal of discriminatory provisions over forced uniformity [4].

The case against exclusion

• Uniformity diluted: a code that exempts a large population segment is uniform only in name, weakening the very purpose of Article 44.
• Gender justice gap: many customary regimes deny women equal succession rights; blanket exemption places tribal women beyond the reform's reach.
• Line drawn by identity, not practice: other communities lose customary space while STs retain it, inviting Article 14 scrutiny.
• Growing fragmentation: with Uttarakhand, Gujarat and now Assam [5] legislating separately and Rajasthan next, "uniform" codes differ state to state, each with a differently drawn tribal carve-out.

The exclusion is best read not as a loophole but as constitutional accommodation — justified today, though not permanently. The way forward is reform by consent: opt-in registration, consultation through gram sabhas and autonomous councils, and community-led codification of customs. Uniformity secured through participation, rather than imposition, reconciles Article 44 with Articles 29 and 46.