Assam minority body hails repealing Muslims Marriages Act in state

Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 3 (ANI): The Muslim Rashtriya Manch, an Assam-based minority body, on Sunday came out in support of repealing the Muslims Marriages Act.

It also welcomed the state government’s ongoing crackdown on child marriage in the Northeast state.

In an impassioned address to the state legislative assembly earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he would not allow child marriage in Assam as long as he was alive.

Speaking to media persons on Sunday, Alkas Hussain, state coordinator, Muslim Rashtriya Manch, said, “We wish to congratulate the government for repealing the Assam Muslims Marriages & Divorces Registration Act, 1935 as well as launching a crackdown on child marriage in the state.”

Also pledging support to roll-out of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), as has been widely speculated since the launch of uniform civil laws in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, Hussain said, “We are in favour of a nationwide rollout of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). There should be one law for everyone. We urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to bring UCC in Assam.”

“We believe that there should be a common dress code for all Indians. We are with the government,” he said.

He added that the organisation that he represents supports all progressive initiatives that are aimed at taking the state forward.

The Assam Cabinet recently approved the Assam Repealing Ordinance, 2024, seeking the annulment of the British-era Marriage and Divorce Act for Muslims.

The move drew censure from the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM and other minority based parties in the state and across the country.

The UCC proposes uniform civic laws for all citizens in all matters that include marriage, divorce, inheritance, and property rights. The UCC, one rolled out, would apply to all citizens equally, regardless of their religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The UCC is part of the Constitution’s non-justiciable directive principles of state policy. Some members of the Constituent Assembly had strongly advocated for its binding implementation while others raised concerns about the potential infringement on religious freedom and cultural diversity.