According to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Assam government will take “legislative action” to outlaw polygamy.
Speaking at a news conference to commemorate his administration’s second anniversary in Guwahati, Sarma announced the formation of a “expert committee” to determine whether the state legislature had the authority to outlaw polygamy. He stated that the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937 provisions would be examined by a committee made up of legal professionals and academics in light of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which he described as the overarching concept guiding national policy.
He emphasised that the ban would be achieved “through consensus and not aggression”. “We will be consulting intellectuals, Islamic scholars, elders… so this is a consensus building activity, rather than a provocation,” said Sarma, who had faced criticism for a crackdown on child marriage in February earlier this year.
Sarma claimed on Tuesday that the authorities discovered numerous older males who had “married multiple times,” frequently to young girls, during the aforementioned crackdown. Therefore, he added, “punishing child marriage is not the only solution; outlawing polygamy is also crucial.”
The CM for Assam declared that the government would keep up its aggressive campaign against underage marriage. “There were going to be a lot of arrests and a crackdown on child marriage,” he added.
Sarma recently advocated for the adoption of a Uniform Civil Code to ensure equal rights for Muslim women during the Karnataka assembly elections. He claimed during a rally that members of the community “marry four times,” turning women into “child-producing machines.” Nevertheless, Guwahati. Sarma claimed that the government would not enforce the state’s polygamy rule by going to UCC. “A national consensus is necessary for UCC. As a part of the UCC, we are announcing our plan to outlaw polygamy in the state,” he stated.
According to Sarma, the practise was less common “among educated people”.It is barely present among the Assamese Muslims who live there naturally… It can be found in locations such as Barak Valley, Hojai, and Jamunamukh. a sizeable portion are Muslims
