Bengali-speaking Muslims must stop child marriage, polygamy to be considered indigenous people: CM
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asserted that Bengali-speaking Muslims must forsake practices like child marriage and polygamy to be considered 'khilonjiya' indigenous people of the state.
Sarma had also previously held the Bengali-speaking Muslim community of the state, most of whom have roots in Bangladesh, responsible for these social evils.
"Whether 'Miyas' (Bengali-speaking Muslims) are indigenous or not is a different matter. What we are saying is that if they try to be 'indigenous', we have no problem. But for that, they have to forsake child marriage and polygamy, and encourage women education," Sarma said on Saturday.
'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and the non-Bengali speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.
He said the Assamese people have a culture in which girls are compared to 'shakti' (goddess), and marrying two-three times is not an Assamese culture.
"I always tell them, there is no problem in 'Miyas' being indigenous. But they cannot have two-three wives. That is not an Assamese culture. How can one encroach Satra (Vaishnavite monastery) land and want to be indigenous?" he maintained.
If the Bengali speaking Muslims can follow the Assamese customs, they too will be considered 'indigenous', the CM added.
The state government had launched an intensive crackdown against child marriage in two phases last year and it was found that many elderly men married multiple times and their wives were mostly young girls, belonging to the poor section of the society, Sarma had said earlier.
In the first phase in February last year, 3,483 persons were arrested and 4,515 cases registered while 915 persons were arrested and 710 cases registered in the second phase in October.
Sarma had asserted that the practise of underage marriage will be eradicated from the state by 2026 when the next Assembly elections are due.
In a bid to end child marriage, the state Cabinet had last month also approved a decision to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935.
The Act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21 years respectively, as required by law.
The opposition had termed the decision as a move to polarise voters ahead of Lok Sabha elections and asserted that it will sound the death knell for the BJP government at the Centre.
The chief minister had earlier said that the state government was planning to bring a bill to end polygamy in the state in the last budget session of the legislative assembly, but did not do so.
An expert committee had submitted a report on the assembly's competence to end polygamy following which 150 suggestions were received regarding the proposed bill to end the social menace in the state.
Sarma had also voiced support for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.
The opposition parties had slammed the decision of the government to enact a law on polygamy as diversionary and communal, especially at a time when suggestions on the UCC are being received by the Law Commission.
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Strictest action promised after students forced to remove sacred thread at Bengaluru CET exam centre
Bengaluru (PTI): Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner Jagadeesha G on Monday said the government has decided to take the “strictest possible action” against those responsible for allegedly forcing some students to remove their ‘janivara’ (sacred thread) before entering the venue of the CET exam last week.
He said a committee of senior officials constituted to inquire into the incident reported that, prima facie, it appears the students were “intentionally” made to remove the ‘janivara’.
The city police have already booked three staff members of a private college in Bengaluru for allegedly forcing some students to remove their ‘janivara’ before entering the venue of the Common Entrance Test (CET-2026) last week.
Similar incidents last year in Shivamogga and Bidar had triggered controversy, following which the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) issued clear directions not to force students to remove any religious identification or symbol during exams.
“Despite KEA taking measures such as appointing dress code officials and providing training on dos and don’ts to prevent such incidents from recurring after last year’s cases, there has been a dereliction of duty this time,” Jagadeesha told reporters here.
“To take strict action against those responsible, an FIR has been registered, and arrests have been made. An inquiry has been conducted by senior officials, and those responsible have been suspended,” he added.
Stating that the inquiry report has been submitted at the district level, he said it will be forwarded to the government.
Based on the findings, it has also been decided that KEA will not conduct CET exams at the institution where the incident occurred, he added.
“The strictest possible action is being taken by the district administration and the government,” he added.
The deputy commissioner had constituted a committee headed by the additional deputy commissioner to investigate the incident and submit a report within two days.
“Exams have been held at several centres across the state, and nowhere else has this issue occurred. If students were forced to remove ‘janivara’ at this centre, it appears that it was intentional. We have taken it seriously,” he said, adding that strict action has been recommended to ensure such incidents do not recur.
Noting that senior officials were appointed for the inquiry, the DC said that after a thorough investigation and verification—which included statements from students, the school principal, exam observers, CCTV footage, and documents—it prima facie appears that students were intentionally made to remove the ‘janivara’.
“We are recommending strict action. The government has also ordered a detailed police investigation, and an FIR has been registered in connection with the incident,” he added.
