Golwalkar had reservations on UCC, called for ‘unity in diversity’

The second RSS sarsanghchalak, MS Golwalkar, had, in fact, expressed his reservations in 1972 while advocating for “unity in diversity”.

5 min readSep 20, 2026 06:50 AM IST First published on: Sep 20, 2026 at 06:50 AM IST

While the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is seen as one of the core agendas of the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has promised to enact it in 21 NDA-ruled states by 2029, the party, and its predecessor, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), have not always included it in their election manifestos. Even their ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), didn’t include it in its agenda as forcefully during the initial decades of Independence. The second RSS sarsanghchalak, MS Golwalkar, had, in fact, expressed his reservations in 1972 while advocating for “unity in diversity”.

The book Saman Nagrik Samhita: Ek Paricharcha, a Hindi publication by Suruchi Prakashan, New Delhi, carries an interview dated August 1972 of Golwalkar as it was published in the RSS-linked weekly Organiser. In it, Golwalkar said while responding to whether UCC was a must for promoting the spirit of nationality: “No. You and others may find this answer surprising. But my opinion is this… India has always encouraged diversity. Despite that, we have been a strong and unified nation for centuries. For unity, we need amiability, not uniformity”.