Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Announces Move To Ban Polygamy, Forms Expert Committee

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that the Assam government will initiate a move to ban the practice of polygamy through ‘legislative action’.

On the occasion to mark the second anniversary of his government in Guwahati, CM Sarma announced at a press conference that formation of an expert committee is being mulled to examine the state legislature’s legality to prohibit polygamy.

Comprising legal experts and scholars, this committee will examine the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law under Shariat Act, 1937, to be read with Article 25 of the Constitution of India incorporating the directive principle of state policy, the CM said.

‘Consensus’ and not ‘aggression’ would be used to implement the ban, he emphasised. “We will be consulting intellectuals, Islamic scholars, elders… so this is a consensus building activity, rather than a provocation,” said CM Sarma.

The Assam CM had earlier faced criticism for a crackdown on child marriage in February this year.

Sarma on Tuesday said that during the said crackdown, it was found by the authorities that many aged men got married ‘multiple times’, and often minor girls were involved. “Therefore crackdown against child marriage is not the only solution, banning polygamy is also important,” he said.

The Assam CM, however, said that intensified action on child marriage would be continued by the government. “There were will be series of arrests and clampdown on child marriage in an intensive operation,” he said.

During a recent rally in his campaign for the Karnataka assembly elections, Sarma had advocated for implementation of a Uniform Civil Code to ensure equal rights for Muslim women. In the rally, he had alleged that men from the community ‘marry four times’, which had turned women into ‘child-producing machines’.

However, in Guwahati, CM Sarma said that the government was not approaching UCC to implement the state’s polygamy ban. “For UCC, a national consensus is required. We are announcing our intention to ban polygamy in the state as one component of the UCC,” he added.

Sarma said that the practice was less “among educated people”.“It is hardly there among the indigenous Assamese Muslim community… It is there in places like Barak Valley, Hojai… Jamunamukh.” Muslims make up a significant portion of the population in these areas.

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