A demonstration in Calcutta against the violation of the personal status law for Muslims in India (Reuters - Archive)

The northeastern Indian state of Assam has abolished a law regulating the personal status of Muslims, and the move sparked accusations that the government - led by the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party - is pursuing discriminatory policies towards Muslims.

The Assam government spokesman said yesterday, Saturday, that the state’s cabinet decided on Friday to abolish the Islamic Marriage and Divorce Law, which dates back to the year 1935, and attributed the decision to what he described as efforts made to support the fight against the marriage of minors, noting that this measure is a step towards implementing the unified civil code in the state.

For his part, Assam Prime Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma considered that one of the reasons for repealing the law was the lack of commitment to registering marriages and divorces.

The repeal of the law came into effect starting yesterday, Saturday, and in response to a question about whether the measure would be implemented before the general elections scheduled for next May, Sarma told Reuters that it would not be implemented immediately.

Earlier this February, the Himalayan state of Uttar Kand approved legislation unifying civil status laws between religions, in a move opposed by many Muslim minority leaders in India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - the leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party - previously promised to enact a unified civil code, which Muslims in India oppose.

Muslims constitute 34% of the population of Assam, which is the largest percentage of Muslims compared to other Indian states.

A provocation to Muslims

Commenting on the decision, Badruddin Ajmal - a representative from Assam who leads the United Democratic Front that defends Muslim issues in India - said that abolishing the Islamic marriage and divorce law in the state is a provocative step for Muslims in order to win over voters before the elections next May.

For his part, Abdul Rashid Mandal - one of the leaders of the opposition National Congress Party - said that Muslims were deprived of the Islamic Marriage and Divorce Law of 1935.

Mandal added that the government is trying to win over Hindu voters ahead of the general elections scheduled for next May, noting that claims that the law allows child marriage are incorrect.

He stressed that the law was consistent with the Constitution, and was the only mechanism for registering Muslim marriages in the state, saying that the matter was related to the Muslim Personal Status Law, which could not be repealed.

Earlier this month, the British newspaper The Times reported that India seeks to impose a unified law among all Indians that abolishes the privacy that was granted to every sect or religion in the country, and paves the way for the abolition of Muslims’ reliance on Islamic law with regard to marriage, divorce, and inheritance.

The newspaper quoted critics of the bill as saying that it targets India's 200 million Muslims, and they considered it one of the principles of the ruling party's Hindu nationalist ideological agenda.

Source: Times + Agencies