Will bring legislation on ‘love jihad’ and polygamy, says Assam CM
Sarma said several historic legislations, including those on “love jihad” and polygamy, would be introduced in the next assembly session
Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that the government would introduce two legislations on ‘love-jihad’ and polygamy in the next session of the state assembly.
“Several historic legislations, including those on “love jihad” and polygamy, will be introduced in the next assembly session… Once they get approved by the state cabinet, we will provide more information,” Sarma said on the sidelines of an event in Nagaon, around 120km from Guwahati.
“Love jihad” is a term used by right-wing groups to describe an alleged conspiracy by Muslim men to woo and seduce Hindu women, although courts and the Union government do not officially recognise it.
Sarma said that bills on the preservation of Satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) and on land rights for the tea-tribe community would also be introduced during the session. The government hasn’t indicated when the next session of the assembly will be convened.
In a speech on October 10 in in Dibrugarh, the chief minister had projected that the population of “Miyas” would rise to 38% by the time the next census is held and declared that the government would introduce two laws to protect the state’s indigenous population.
Miya is a pejorative term used primarily in Assam for Bengali-speaking Muslims with origins in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). As per the Assam Accord and the Citizenship Act, those who have entered the state (from Bangladesh) after March 25, 1971 (the day Bangladesh came into being) would be termed as foreigners.
According to the 2011 census, Muslims comprised 34.22% of Assam’s population. That figure includes both indigenous Muslim communities who have been living in the state for centuries and speak Assamese as their mother tongue and also Bengali-speaking Muslims, who have migrated to the state over the past century.
