10 MAY,2023.
Assam plans to ban polygamy.(PG 7)(GS 2)
10 MAY,2023.
The drive against child marriage provided the government with information about the extent of the social malaise.
•The BJP government in Assam has decided to set up a panel towards handling a “part of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)” after a crackdown on child marriage – polygamy.
•CHIEF Minister Himanta BiswaSarma on Tuesday said a decision has been taken to form an expert committee to examine whether the government has the authority to ban polygamy in the State.
•The committee would be tasked with scrutinising the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937, along with Article 25 of the Constitution of India, in relation to the directive principles of State policy for UCC.
•Dr. Sarma could not provide data on the prevalence of polygamy in the State but said many cases were detected during the crackdown on child marriage launched in January.
•Altogether, 4,404 cases have been registered and 3,397 people arrested under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and the Protection of Children from Sexual OffÂences Act, 2012, he told journalists at an event marking the completion of two years of his government. “Many cases were found in Barak Valley and Jamunamukh and Hojai,” Dr. Sarma said.
•The areas he cited are Muslimdominated. But he pointed out, polygamy was almost nil among the indigenous Assamese Muslims and those who were educated.