Assam to table bill to end polygamy within this financial year, says Himanta Sarma

A report by an expert committee said the state can frame its own laws on the matter, the chief minister added.

Aug 7, 2023 - 16:30

Assam to table bill to end polygamy within this financial year, says Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that his government would introduce a bill to end polygamy within this financial year.

Sarma made the remarks hours after an expert committee submitted its report on the state’s competence to frame laws on the matter.

Today, the Expert Committee, formed to examine the legislative competence of the State Legislature to enact a law to end polygamy in Assam, submitted its report. Assam is now closer of creating a positive ecosystem for women's empowerment irrespective of caste, creed or religion. pic.twitter.com/4sycOWwPhN— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 6, 2023

“The report unanimously said the state government has the right to frame laws on polygamy,” Sarma said at a press conference, according to PTI. “The state government is competent to enact such a law.”

Polygamy – the practice to have more than one wife – is allowed in Muslim personal laws. The practice was banned among Hindus in the 1950s through the Hindu Code Bill, which also regulates aspects such as inheritance, adoption, marriage and divorce. This law is often used as a justification by the Hindutva bodies to introduce a Uniform Civil Code.

A Uniform Civil Code has been on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda for long and several states ruled by the party have been...