The Assam Cabinet approved a draft bill on Sunday aimed at prohibiting polygamy in the state, a decision criticized by some as an attempt to criminalize practices defended under Muslim personal law.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, an advocate for such legislation, announced that the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, will be presented to the Assembly on November 25. Under the proposed law, individuals found guilty of polygamy could face imprisonment of up to seven years.
The draft legislation exempts Scheduled Tribe communities from its provisions and will not “immediately” apply to regions governed by the Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, and Dima Hasao Autonomous Council, which operate under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. This schedule provides land protections and limited autonomy to tribal areas.
As a result, the law is expected to mainly affect the non-tribal population, which largely comprises the state’s Muslim residents. Sarma noted that Muslims living in the Sixth Schedule areas prior to 2005 will be exempt, a clause that has drawn skepticism, with some observers labeling it a superficial safeguard aimed at selective targeting.
The Chief Minister also announced plans for a state fund to assist women impacted by polygamy, promising financial support for cases where needed to prevent hardship for affected women.
While Sarma asserted that the bill seeks to “empower Muslim women,” his repeated framing of polygamy as a practice limited to Muslims has attracted criticism from human rights groups and legal experts. They view this move as part of a broader effort by the BJP-led government to intervene in Muslim personal law.
Polygamy is currently permitted under Muslim personal law, which governs various aspects of marriage and family within the community. In contrast, the practice was banned among Hindus in the 1950s with the Hindu Code Bill, which also standardized laws on inheritance, adoption, marriage, and divorce.
Legal experts suggest that the initiative to criminalize polygamy is part of a larger ideological campaign by Hindutva organizations to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), an action that many see as threatening India’s diverse legal traditions and undermining constitutional protections for religious freedoms.
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