Tag: Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act

  • Indian state plans law for Muslim marriages and divorces

    Indian state plans law for Muslim marriages and divorces

    Indian authorities in Assam state have introduced a bill that would require Muslims to register their marriages and divorces, with the chief minister claiming the measure will help stop child marriage.

    The bill is seen as a state-level step towards the government’s proposed common civil code of law, which Muslim activists bitterly oppose as an attack on their faith.

    India’s 1.4 billion people are subject to a common criminal law. Still, personal matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed by varying rules based on the traditions of different communities and faiths.

    In Assam, it is already mandatory for other religions to register marriages with civil authorities.

    Assam’s state government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the bill would be tabled during the next state assembly.

    “Our basic intention is to stop child marriages,” Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of the northeastern state, told reporters Wednesday.

    Sarma said the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill would not restrict religious rituals, but only ensure marriages and divorces were registered.

    The bill will “provide safeguards and benefits… especially to women and prevent the menace of child marriages,” he said.

    Modi said this month he wanted to press ahead with a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to standardise laws for personal matters across faiths and religious communities.

    Many communities, particularly Muslims, fear a UCC would encroach on their religious laws.

    Modi maintains it would serve as an equaliser.

    “Those laws that divide the country on the basis of religion, that become reason for inequality, should have no place in a modern society,” Modi said during an Independence Day address on August 15.

    “That is why I say: the times demand that there is a secular civil code in the country.”

    Modi won a third successive term in office in June but was forced into a coalition government for the first time in a decade.

    The BJP’s Hindu nationalist rhetoric has left India’s Muslim population of more than 220 million increasingly anxious about their future.

  • British-era Muslim marriage act declared invalid in Assam

    British-era Muslim marriage act declared invalid in Assam

    The state cabinet of Assam, India, approved the Assam Repealing Ordinance, 2024, for the annulment of the British-era Marriage and Divorce Act specific to Muslims.

    Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday asserted that he will not allow child marriages in the state and will repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935 as long as he is alive. He also pledged to eliminate child marriage in the state before 2026.

    “Hear me carefully, as long as I am alive, I will not let child marriage take place in Assam. I will not let this happen as long as Himanta Biswa Sarma is alive…I would like to challenge you politically, I will shut down this shop before 2026…We will not rest in peace until we completely close the shop that you people (Congress) have opened to ruin the daughters of the Muslim community,” the Assam CM said in a fiery speech in the House as reported by Hindustan Times.

    Assam, home to the highest Muslim population among Indian states at 34 percent, has abolished the archaic Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, of 1935.

    The decision aligns with Assam’s broader objective of instituting uniform civil laws for marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance as described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which aims to establish a Uniform Civil Code — a stance met with opposition from Muslims and other minorities in India.

    Assam’s chief minister, when inquired about the potential implementation of a Uniform Civil Code before the impending general elections, stated, “Not immediately,” maintaining a cautious stance.

    Many of Assam’s Muslims trace their roots to Bangladesh, sparking occasional tensions with the predominantly Hindu ethnic Assamese population.
    Muslim leaders opposing the law’s repeal deem it discriminatory, accusing the BJP of attempting to polarise voters and warning that this move could signal the beginning of the end for the BJP government in Assam.

    Badruddin Ajmal, a prominent lawmaker from Assam, remarked, “It’s a first step toward bringing a Uniform Civil Code, but this is how the BJP government will come to an end in Assam”.