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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Mass funeral of four brothers leaves UAE community in mourning after fatal road accident
Report: Thufail Muhammad Abudhabi
Dubai: The funeral of four young brothers who died in a tragic road accident near Abu Dhabi drew hundreds of mourners to the Al Qusais cemetery on Tuesday evening, leaving the UAE’s expatriate community in deep shock and grief.
The children Ashaj (14), Ammar (12), Azaam (8) and Ayyash (5) were the sons of Abdul Latheef and Ruksana, natives of Kerala’s Malappuram district. The family was returning to their Dubai residence after attending the Liwa Festival on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi when their car met with a fatal accident early Sunday morning.
Three of the children died on the spot, while Azaam succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening during treatment. The family’s domestic helper, Bushra Fayaz (49), also lost her life in the crash. Her body was repatriated to India on Monday night, and funeral rites were held in Kerala on Tuesday.
Abdul Latheef, who sustained injuries in the accident, arrived at the cemetery from Abu Dhabi in a wheelchair, his hand in a sling, to attend the burial of his sons. Mourners described the scene as one of the most heartbreaking they had ever witnessed.
“I have never seen the mass burial of children from the same family. It was devastating for everyone present,” said a social worker who assisted the family.
The couple’s only daughter, Izza (10), survived the accident with minor injuries and is undergoing treatment. Unaware of the loss of her brothers, she was seen playing on a mobile phone from her hospital bed.
Relatives said informing the parents about the tragedy was handled with extreme care. Abdul Latheef was told late on Sunday night, while Ruksana who had undergone surgery for an injury to her hand was informed only on Tuesday after counsellors were brought in to break the news professionally.
Before the burial, the parents were allowed to see their children one last time. Ruksana was taken by ambulance to the mortuary, while Abdul Latheef obtained special permission for temporary discharge from hospital to attend the funeral. Ruksana remained hospitalised with her daughter.
Though the family holds Ras Al Khaimah visas, special permission was obtained to conduct the burial in Dubai, where the family resides and where most relatives are based. Community members expressed gratitude to the Dubai authorities for facilitating the process.
Abdul Latheef runs a business in Ras Al Khaimah, while Ruksana works as a property consultant in Dubai. All five children were students of Arab Unity School in Dubai, following the British curriculum. The school management issued a circular to parents outlining measures to support students and families affected by the tragedy and advising on how to discuss the loss sensitively with children.
The cause of the accident has not yet been officially confirmed by Abu Dhabi Police. Public discussions have pointed to possible factors such as dense winter fog and overspeeding, though authorities are yet to release findings.
