Assam will move to ban polygamy, form expert committee to examine legality: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Sarma on Tuesday said that during the said crackdown, the authorities found that many aged men got “married multiple times”, and often to minor girls. “Therefore crackdown against child marriage is not the only solution, banning polygamy is also important,” he said.

The Assam CM said that the government would continue the intense action on child marriage. “There were will be series of arrests and clampdown on child marriage in an intensive operation,” he said.

In a recent campaign for the Karnataka assembly elections, Sarma had batted for implementation of a Uniform Civil Code for equal rights for Muslim women. In a rally, he had alleged that men from the community “marry four times”, which had made women “child-producing machines”. However, in Guwahati. Sarma said that the government was not going towards UCC to implement the state’s polygamy ban. “For UCC, a national consensus is required. We are announcing our intention to ban polygamy in the state as one component of the UCC,” he said.

Sarma said that the practice was less “among educated people”.“It is hardly there among the indigenous Assamese Muslim community… It is there in places like Barak Valley, Hojai… Jamunamukh.” Muslims make up a significant portion of the population in these areas.