HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Aug 29: The Assam Assembly on Thursday passed a bill that mandates compulsory registration of marriage and divorce for the Muslim community, replacing the previous 1935 act that was in effect in the state.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hailed it as a “historic day” and announced that the government’s next goal would be to outlaw polygamy.
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Jogen Mohan, the minister of revenue and disaster management, introduced the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024 on Tuesday.
The Bill seeks to do away with the Qazi system, in which Muslim marriages are registered by clerics. As a result, all marriages will be able to register with the government.
Sarma said that all earlier registrations of marriages conducted by Qazis will remain valid and only new ones will come under the purview of the legislation.
”This Act will now make it mandatory to register marriages with the Govt and cannot contravene the legal age of marriage of 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys. It will also act as a strict deterrent against teenage pregnancy and improve overall growth of our girls,” Sarma wrote on micro-blogging site X.
“I thank all the legislators who pledged their support to this Bill and Govt’s vision of preventing child marriage. This Bill is above party politics and is a means to give our girls a life of dignity,” Sarma added.
The chief minister further stated there is already a law for registration of marriage and divorce of Muslim people in Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir.
“The states with the largest Muslim populations in India are Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir. A law requiring the registration of Muslim marriages already existed in both the states. The Congress or the Left government must have introduced this act in Kerala because the BJP was never in power in this southern state,” he claimed.
He further said that the Muslim marriage registration laws will provide protection and security to Muslim daughters, expressing concern for them.
“I urge the Opposition members not to oppose this bill. This new law will assist in ending the terrible practice of underage marriages in addition to providing protection for Muslim females,” the chief minister remarked while addressing an opposition MLA.
He added that Muslim marriages have raised concerns for the Supreme Court, which has made multiple observations on the subject.
The chief minister stated that instead of focusing on the Qazi losing their jobs, the opposition should constantly consider the safety of the Muslim daughters’ future.
Furthermore, he contended that the bulk of Qazi are employed as teachers.
“Just 90 Qazi in Assam will become obsolete as a result of the Marriage Registration Act. But since the majority of them are teachers, it is evident that they cannot continue in the Qazi profession in addition to teaching,” the CM said.
