Assam Assembly Scraps Decades-Old Jumma Break, Citing Productivity and Secularism

GUWAHATI: The Assam Legislative Assembly has created history by scrapping the two-hour Jumma break on Fridays to enable the Muslim legislators to attend their prayers. The two-hour break in force since 1937 has been scrapped officially, and the decision has come into effect immediately.

The move was championed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who thanked Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary on the floor of the House for facilitating this change. He tweeted on X, "By abolishing the colonial remnants of 2-hour Jumma break, Assam Assembly strikes a confident note for productivity. This was instituted by Syed Saadulla of the Muslim League in 1937. I thank Speaker Biswajit Daimary and our MLAs for this historic decision."

Hitherto, the Assembly would adjourn its Friday session at 11 am to enable Muslim members take time off to attend their Jumma prayers and it resumed work only after lunch. Friday sessions under the new dispensation began at 9: 30 a.m and carried on with no break, thus falling in line with the other weekdays.

The proposal came from the Assembly's Rules Committee, headed by Speaker Daimary, who underlined the requirement of bringing the practices in the Assembly in line with the secular principles of the Indian Constitution. The committee unanimously supported the proposal, thus making it a unanimous decision to do away with the practice, which many saw as a relic from a colonial past aimed at keeping communities divided on religious lines.

Giving the background of the Jumma break, the official order said, "Since the creation of the Assam Legislative Assembly, the sitting of the Assembly on Friday used to be adjourned at 11 a.m. to facilitate the Muslim members to go for namaaz. The Assembly used to resume its proceedings in the post-lunch session after the Muslim members had come back from the namaaz." This amendment was incorporated with the view that functioning of the House must be in tune with the secular character of the Indian Constitution, the order added.

ALSO READ:

ALSO WATCH: