In the past, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said under the act's terms, Prince William "can marry by law a Hindu, a Buddhist, anyone, but not a Roman Catholic" and still be king.
And opposition parties in parliament - led by Congress - alleged that those detained under the law in Gujarat do not include prominent Hindu hardliners reportedly involved in orchestrating the violence.
The law is distilled from rural custom and Hindu scripture, and generally holds that land is owned collectively by families and then passed to the next generation, as represented by sons.