GUWAHATI
\nIndian authorities in Assam state have introduced a bill that would require Muslims to register their marriages and divorces, with the chief minister claiming the measure will help stop child marriage.
\nThe bill is seen as a state-level step towards the government\u2019s proposed common civil code of law, which is bitterly opposed by Muslim activists as an attack on their faith.
\nIndia\u2019s 1.4 billion people are subject to a common criminal law, but personal matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed by varying rules based on the traditions of different communities and faiths. In Assam, it is already mandatory for other religions to register marriages with civil authorities.
\nAssam\u2019s state government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the bill would be tabled during the next state assembly. \u201cOur basic intention is to stop child marriages,\u201d Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of the northeastern state, told reporters Wednesday.
\nSarma said the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill would not restrict religious rituals, but only ensure marriages and divorces were registered.
\nThe bill will \u201cprovide safeguards and benefits… especially to women and prevent the menace of child marriages,\u201d he said.
\nModi said this month he wanted to press ahead with a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to standardise laws for personal matters across faiths and religious communities.
\nMany communities, particularly Muslims, fear a UCC would encroach on their religious laws.
\nModi maintains it would serve as an equaliser.
\n\u201cThose laws that divide the country on the basis of religion, that become reason for inequality, should have no place in a modern society,\u201d Modi said during an Independence Day address on August 15.
\n\u201cThat is why I say: the times demand that there is a secular civil code in the country.\u201d
\nModi won a third successive term in office in June but was forced into a coalition government for the first time in a decade.
\nThe BJP\u2019s Hindu nationalist rhetoric has left India\u2019s Muslim population of more than 220 million increasingly anxious about their future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GUWAHATI Indian authorities in Assam state have introduced a bill that would require Muslims to register their marriages and divorces, with the chief minister claiming the measure will help stop child marriage. The bill is seen as a state-level step towards the government\u2019s proposed common civil code of law, which is bitterly opposed by Muslim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-426604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n