The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has announced a nationwide campaign against the Centre’s “one nation, one law” approach as the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) gains ground in several states.The board will launch ‘Bharat Bachao, Sharia Bachao Abhiyan’ on September 17, turning its opposition to UCC into a coordinated national mobilisation. The announcement was made at a press conference in Press Club, where board members said the campaign would remain peaceful.The move comes amid another contentious issue involving ‘Vande Mataram’. The board’s opposition has intensified following the move to make the singing of all six stanzas of the national song, along with standing to attention while it is being sung, a legal requirement.According to the board, the campaign will focus on protecting religious practices and Sharia laws, and bringing members of the Muslim community together around the issue. It plans to take the campaign beyond public statements by organising meetings, seminars, conferences of intellectuals and rallies in major cities.The board also said peaceful protest marches could be organised wherever necessary, with the stated aim of conveying its position to the government.The announcement places UCC at the centre of a wider political and social debate over religious freedom and the nature of a common legal framework for citizens. Board office-bearers, including Syedatullah Hussaini, said the proposed uniform law was incompatible with the country’s diversity and the fundamental right to religious freedom.The board maintains that the issue goes beyond changes to personal laws. Its campaign is intended to raise public awareness and mobilise people around what it considers the need to protect religious practices and Sharia law.Muslim religious leaders have also alleged that discrimination against Muslims continues under the present government. They have linked these allegations to UCC and the ‘Vande Mataram’ issue, describing both as part of what they see as attempts to impose decisions on the community.The board’s decision is likely to add a new political dimension to the debate over UCC. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other Hindu organisations are expected to react strongly to AIMPLB’s campaign. VHP has long advocated a common law for all citizens.With the campaign scheduled to begin simultaneously across the country on September 17, the dispute is set to move beyond the question of legislation and into a broader national debate. Public meetings and rallies could give the issue greater political reach, while the competing positions of Muslim and Hindu organisations are likely to sharpen arguments over uniformity, diversity and religious freedom.The coming days could therefore see UCC emerge as a larger political flashpoint, with AIMPLB preparing to take its opposition to the public and Hindu organisations expected to intensify their campaign for a common legal framework.