The BJP government says the law allowed child marriages, but Muslim leaders allege the move is aimed at polarizing voters ahead of elections.
The Indian state of Assam, which has a large Muslim population, has repealed a British-era law on Muslim marriage and divorce, sparking anger among the minority community whose leaders say the plan is an attempt to polarize voters in along religious lines before the national election. choice.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote in X on Saturday that the state has repealed the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act that was enacted almost nine decades ago.
“This law contained provisions that allowed marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21, as required by law. This move marks another important step towards banning child marriages in Assam,” he wrote.
On December 23, 2024, the Assam cabinet took the important decision to repeal the old Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act. This law contained provisions that allowed marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21, as required…
– Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 23, 2024
The legislation, enacted in 1935, established the legal process in accordance with Muslim personal law. After a 2010 amendment, it made registration of Muslim marriages and divorces mandatory in the state, while earlier registration was voluntary.
Authorities in the state, governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called the law “obsolete” and alleged that it allowed child marriages.
The state government's crackdown on child marriages, which began last year, has included several thousand arrests under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act in a bid to “eradicate” child marriages by 2026.
But representatives of the Muslim community in the state said the crackdown was largely directed against them.
Assam, which has the highest percentage of Muslims among Indian states at 34 percent, has previously said it wants to implement uniform civil laws for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance, as the northern state of Uttarakhand, also ruled by the BJP. this month.
Throughout the country, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and other groups follow their own laws and customs or a secular code for such matters. The BJP has promised a Uniform Civil Code.
The Assam government has said it intends to enact the same law as Uttarakhand. Reuters news agency quoted Chief Minister Sarma as saying on Sunday that the state is “not immediately” engaged in efforts to implement a unified code before general elections, scheduled for May.
Bengali-speaking Muslims make up the majority of the Muslim population in Assam, and tensions often rise between them and the ethnic Assamese, who are mostly Hindu. Nationalist politicians say a large-scale migration from neighboring Bangladesh has altered the demographics of the northeastern state.
'They want to polarize voters'
Assam's decision on the Muslim marriage and divorce law led Muslim opposition leaders to accuse the BJP of trying to use the colonial-era law as an electoral ploy.
“They want to polarize their voters by provoking Muslims, which Muslims will not allow to happen,” Badruddin Ajmal, an Assam lawmaker who heads the All India United Democratic Front that fights primarily for Muslim causes, told reporters on Saturday. .
“It is a first step towards adoption of a Uniform Civil Code, but this is how the BJP government will come to an end in Assam.”
Other opposition parties also criticized the decision.
“Just before the elections, the government is trying to polarize voters, disenfranchising and discriminating against Muslims in some fields, such as repealing the registration and divorce law, saying it is a law before independence in 1935,” he said. Abdur Rashid Mandal of the main opposition Indian National Congress party.
Mandal dismissed claims that the law allows child marriage, adding that it was “the only mechanism to register marriages of Muslims” in the state.
“There is no other sphere or institution and it also conforms to the constitution of India. It is the personal law of Muslims that cannot be repealed.”
