The Assam cabinet on Wednesday approved three new draft laws regulating the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces and the protection of heritage sites and tribal lands. The new bills will be tabled in the autumn session of the state assembly, which is starting on Thursday.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the earlier law regulating Muslims marriages and weddings -- the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorce Registration Act, 1935 –– will be repealed and replaced with the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriage and Divorce Bill, 2024 which strips community qazis of the power to register marriages.
The earlier legislation provided for the voluntary registration of Muslim marriages and divorces and allowed the government to provide a licence to a Muslim person authorising him to register Muslim marriages and divorces. The cabinet had decided in February this year to repeal the existing legislation.
“Earlier Qazis (experts on Muslim scriptures) used to register Muslim marriages and divorces. With the introduction of the new legislation, these will have to be registered by government officials. The earlier bill had the provision of registering marriages of minors as well, that will stop when the new legislation is enacted. This is an attempt to end child marriages in the state,” Sarma said.
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{{/usCountry}}The earlier law, enacted prior to Independence, had a provision which stated that if the bride or groom were minors, the application for registration of marriage can be made by their lawful guardians.
The new law –– details of which will be made available after it is tabled in the assembly –– will make it compulsory for all Muslims to register their marriages and divorces.
The CM has said that the new law will have no impact on how Muslim marriages or divorces are conducted. He added that the new provisions will only change the designation of the person registering the marriage or divorce and ensure that no registration of child marriage takes place.
In response to the development, All India United Democratic Front MLA Md Aminal Islam said that the new law is another tactic by the BJP-led government to “divert public attention from other important issues”.
“The CM is trying to show that his government is trying to bring in some form of uniform civil code. Instead of bringing in a new law, the government could have made changes to the earlier law that allowed registration of child marriages. We have no issues if registration of marriages or divorces are made compulsory. The exact details of the new Bill will be known only after it is tabled in the assembly. Our party will have to first see its contents before deciding whether to oppose it or not,” he added.
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The BJP government, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been conducting drives against child marriages in the state since last year in which nearly 3,000 people have been arrested. Last month, Sarma said that such drives have brought down instances of child marriages in the state by 81% since 2021. He added that such drives will be conducted every six months with the next one scheduled towards the end of this year.
The cabinet also approved the incorporation of a new provision in the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act, 1886 that will provide for creation of a heritage block surrounding an iconic structure of religious, cultural and historical importance.
“These structures will have to be over 250 years old. To protect them, the new provision would restrict sale and purchase of land within a radius of 5 km surrounding these structures only by those persons whose family has resided in that area continuously for at least three generations,” said Sarma.
The CM stated that initially three locations, ‘satras’ (Vaishnavite monastries) in Barpeta, Batadraba and Majuli would be included in the new provision. But unlike the former two, the entire area of Majuli, where many ‘satras’ are located, will be covered by the new rule.
He said that based on suggestions from the public, other sites can also be included.
“Those who have already bought land within 5km radius of these structures won’t face any issues. This is a historic development. I wish previous governments had thought of protecting these sites and enacted such provisions earlier,” the CM said.
The cabinet also approved the creation of micro tribal belts in villages where more than 80% of the population are either scheduled tribe (ST) or scheduled caste (SC). In Assam, non-tribals can’t buy land in notified tribal belts. Sarma said that the creation of micro tribal belts would be based on voluntary applications by villagers and not otherwise.
“This new provision is to ensure that the lands belonging to ST and SC people remain intact. A three-member cabinet committee headed by education minister Ranoj Pegu will prepare a list of villages which can be declared as micro tribal belts and submit it on September 15,” the CM said.