Anwarulhaq Baig
NEW DELHI—The Assam government’s decision to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, has raised concerns among the state’s Muslim community.
While the state government claims that the initiative has been taken to curb child marriages, Muslims feel that it would result in lack of regulation and documentation of Muslim marriages.
The Assam cabinet approved the ‘Assam Repealing Ordinance 2024’ on February 23, that scrapped the 1935 Act. This Act governed the registration process for Muslim marriages and divorces in the state through government-authorized Qazis (Muslim jurists).
The Assam government says that Muslims will now have to register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
However, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) spokesperson Dr SQR Ilyas said there was nothing to panic over it. Even after the repeal of the 1935 Act, Muslim personal law practices would continue to be legally applicable under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
Condemning the Assam government’s move, he called it nothing more than a political stunt ahead of general polls.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Vice President Prof. Salim Engineer termed the move “unfortunate”.
Vehemently condemning the action of the state government, he said the decision was against the spirit of the Indian Constitution and a sign of the present state government’s hatred towards Muslims.
The JIH leader expressed concern about a growing trend in India where hate speech and anti-Muslim actions are seen as politically advantageous. He emphasized the unfortunate trend over the past decade, where some political leaders seem to gain popularity by delivering hate speeches against Muslims and taking anti-Muslim measures. He highlighted a competitive trend among many chief ministers to outdo each other in taking anti-Muslim steps and delivering divisive speeches to be perceived as more nationalists and Hindutwavadis for political benefits.
He asserted that the Assam government’s decision appeared to be aimed at gaining political advantage in the upcoming 2024 elections, with efforts seemingly directed at polarizing people through anti-Muslim measures.
All Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi has also slammed the government’s move to scrap the 1935 Act.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma justified the repeal by stating the 1935 Act contains provisions that allow underage marriages. However, Muslim leaders and opposition leaders point out India already has central laws like the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 that outlaw child marriages across religions.
A lawyer suggested that the amending the controversial section of the 1935 Act could have resolved issues without repealing it altogether.
Advocate Aman Wadud from Assam has also strongly criticized the Assam government’s decision to repeal the Act, terming the government’s explanations as “lies” and “nonsense.”
Wadud specifically refuted the Chief Minister’s claim that the repealed act allowed child marriages. “I have not heard of registration of marriage of any 5 or 6 years old girls. I am surprised that the Chief Minister came up with such lies and weak arguments to defend the repeal of the Act,” said Wadud.
He questioned the government’s assertion that shifting the registration of Muslim marriages from Qazis to Deputy Commissioners under the Special Marriage Act would eliminate child marriage.
“How many Muslim couples get their marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act?” he asked. “This argument by the government does not hold any weight and is simply ‘bunkum,” says Adv Wadud.
Wadud proposed alternative solutions for tackling child marriage. “If the Chief Minister is truly serious about abolishing child marriage,” he said, “he should focus on building quality residential schools, especially for girls from marginalized communities, where education is free. But he won’t do that because the largest beneficiaries would be Muslim girls.”
He suggested the government’s motivations may be political, stating, “Going by the CM’s speech in Hindi on the floor of the Assam Assembly, it appears the repeal is aimed more at his Hindi audience than at genuinely addressing child marriage.”
What Muslim leaders and legal experts fear is the repeal will eliminate the simple, decentralized Qazi-based marriage registration mechanism for Muslims laid out in the 1935 Act. They will now have to register under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 in front of district officials who may lack knowledge on Muslim personal law practices regarding proposal, acceptance and mehr (dower) amount requirements during Muslim nikah ceremonies. This could discourage registration and proper documentation of Muslim marriages. With unregistered marriages, women may face threats to marital rights and social protections in case of abandonment or divorce.
Guwahati-based activist Bazlul Basit Chaudhari, who is also state secretary of JIH Assam, said scrapping the Act appears to be nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to undermine the simple registration mechanisms for Muslim marriages.
The Assam government is justifying the move as an initial step towards bringing in a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which governs all citizens under common laws. Along with the latest move to repeal the Act, the government is also working on criminalizing Muslim practices like polygamy and triple talaq.
However, opposition leaders commonly accuse the BJP-led Assam government of using the repeal as a tool for voter polarization by clamping down on Muslim rights over personal laws. They challenge the government’s ability to legally enforce a Uniform Civil Code given Assam’s diversity.
AIUDF (All India United Democratic Frnot) chief Badruddin Ajmal accused the BJP of trying to polarize votes by targeting Muslims. He said the Muslim community would not let this happen and that the move is the first step towards imposing UCC in Assam, which would prove fatal for the BJP government in the state.
Another AIUDF leader Ashraful Hussain alleged the repeal upholds BJP’s belief in Manuvaad, which discriminates against Muslims. He said CM Sarma’s actions against Muslims make him seem like a dictator.
AIUDF MLA Rafikul claimed the cabinet’s decision intends to antagonize Muslims in an election year. He argued a UCC is legally untenable given Assam’s religious and cultural diversities.
Assam United Opposition Forum’s Lurinjyoti Gogoi criticized the unilateral decision-making by the government on sensitive religious matters.
Congress MLA Abdul Rashid Mandal strongly objected to the repeal as a polarizing move ahead of Lok Sabha elections. He called it discriminatory towards Muslims.
AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel slammed the Assam government for deliberately targeting the Muslim community. He questioned the CM’s understanding of a Uniform Civil Code.
Muslim groups and leaders sense these cumulative actions ignore ground realities around socio-economic and educational marginalization that contribute to such practices, apart from upholding arbitrary governance devoid of community participation. Overall, minority voices feel the controversial scrapping of the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act is likely to create more problems than it solves. It hampers decades-old regulation mechanisms without adequate Alternatives, isolating Muslims from Assam’s stated goals of child marriage abolition and gender justice.
