The BJP authorities says the regulation allowed youngster marriages, however Muslim leaders allege the transfer is geared toward polarising voters forward of election.

The Indian state of Assam, which has a big Muslim inhabitants, has repealed a British-era regulation on Muslim marriage and divorce, prompting anger among the many minority group whose leaders say the plan is an try and polarise voters on non secular strains forward of the nationwide election.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X on Saturday that the state has repealed the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act that was enacted near 9 a long time in the past.

“This act contained provisions allowing 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 significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam,” he wrote.

On 23.22024, the Assam cupboard made a major choice to repeal the age-old Assam Muslim Marriages & Divorces Registration Act. This act contained provisions permitting marriage registration even when the bride and groom had not reached the authorized ages of 18 and 21, as required…

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 23, 2024

The laws, enacted in 1935, laid down the authorized course of in step with the Muslim private regulation. After a 2010 modification, it made the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces obligatory within the state, whereas registration was voluntary earlier than.

Authorities within the state, which is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had known as the regulation “outdated” and alleged it allowed youngster marriages.

The state authorities’s crackdown on child marriages, which began final 12 months, has included a number of thousand arrests underneath the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in a quest to “eradicate” youngster marriages by 2026.

But representatives of the Muslim group within the state mentioned the crackdown was largely directed in opposition to them.

Assam, which has the best proportion of Muslims amongst Indian states at 34 %, has beforehand mentioned it needs to implement uniform civil legal guidelines for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance, because the northern state of Uttarakhand – additionally ruled by the BJP – did earlier this month.

Nationwide, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and different teams observe their very own legal guidelines and customs or a secular code for such issues. The BJP has promised a Uniform Civil Code.

Assam’s authorities has mentioned it intends to enact the identical regulation as Uttarakhand. The Reuters information company quoted Chief Minister Sarma as saying on Sunday the state is “not immediately” engaged in efforts to implement a unified code earlier than the final election, due by May.

Bengali-speaking Muslims comprise the majority of the Muslim inhabitants in Assam, and tensions usually rise between them and ethnic Assamese, who’re principally Hindu. Nationalist politicians say a large-scale migration from neighbouring Bangladesh altered the demographic of the northeastern state.

‘They want to polarise voters’

Assam’s choice on the Muslim marriage and divorce regulation prompted Muslim opposition leaders to accuse the BJP of attempting to make use of the colonial-era regulation as an election ploy.

“They want to polarise their voters by provoking Muslims, which Muslims will not let happen,” Badruddin Ajmal, a legislator from Assam who heads the All India United Democratic Front that primarily fights for Muslim causes, advised reporters on Saturday.

“It’s a first step towards bringing a Uniform Civil Code, but this is how the BJP government will come to an end in Assam.”

Other opposition events additionally criticised the choice.

“Just before the election, the government is trying to polarise the voters, depriving and discriminating against Muslims in some fields, like repealing the registration and divorce act, saying that it is a pre-independence act of 1935,” mentioned Abdur Rashid Mandal of the primary opposition Indian National Congress social gathering.

Mandal dismissed assertions that the regulation permits for youngster marriage, including that it was “the only mechanism to register the marriages of Muslims” within the state.

“There is no other scope or institution and it is also as per the constitution of India. It is the personal law of the Muslims that can’t be repealed.”