Uniform Civil Code, UCC, will be a reality in Assam now :: Himanta regime repeals Muslim Marriage Act

 The law currently provides the facility of voluntary registration of Muslim marriages and divorces.

The Assam Cabinet on Friday approved repeal of the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on micro blogging site X that the move will help the government prevent child marriages in the state.

BJP leader and Union RD Minister Giriraj Singh stated that a “good environment” will be created in the state with the new law.

“(The government) just brought UCC in Uttarakhand. Now, the Assam government will govern all Hindus and Muslims by one law. So, I think a good environment will be created. Now, it will be different for Hindus. If there is a separate law for Muslims, then the country will not work,” he said.

Blogger in North East 

"As per provisions of the Act, there remains scope for registering marriages of intended persons below 21 years (for males) and 18 years (for females) and there is hardly any monitoring for implementation of the Act," the state government said. 

"On February 23, the Assam cabinet made a significant decision to repeal the age-old Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act. This act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21, as required by law. This move marks another significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam," he said.

Elaborating on why it decided to repeal the act, the government said that under the law, registration of marriages and divorces isn't mandatory as per the Act. It also said that the machinery of registration is informal, leaving a lot of scope for non-compliance of norms.

CM and his Big Boss

Opposition leaders in Assam on Saturday, Feb 24, strongly criticised the BJP government over its decision to repeal the Muslim Marriage Act, denouncing it as an "anti-Muslim measure".  

Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal called the Himanta Biswa Sarma government "absolutely an anti-Muslim government" and stated that "they were trying to show the Hindu people that they are favouring them and depriving the Muslims".

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Rafiqul Islam said the state government "did not have the courage" to bring a UCC in the state and alleged that it was "targeting" Muslims.  

“I think they cannot bring UCC in Assam because there are people of many castes and communities here. Elections are nearing and this is just their strategy to target Muslims. They could not bring any bill on polygamy,” Rafiqul Islam said.

Muslims make 34% of Assam’s total population. 

A total of 94 registrars were empowered under the now repealed Act to register a marriage or divorce.

The state will now take custody of the 94 registrars operating under this Act, and they will be provided with a one-time financial compensation of Rs 2 lakh.

Chief Minister Sarma has repeatedly said that the Assam government is working towards introducing a UCC. At the same time, it has also been working on a Bill to ban polygamy, making it a criminal offence.

A Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all Indian citizens and are not based on religion in dealing with marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption, among other personal matters.

Local Assam people and 'others' coming out of Majuli island 

The Assam government wants marriages to be 'registered' under the Special Marriage Act. 

A state government spokesman regretted that the Act now proposed for repeal was also used to register the marriages of underaged boys and girls. 

Pointing out that the state government led by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was committed to bring the UCC, Assam Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah

reiterated that the government will ban polygamy in the state.

Jorhat is an important township in Upper Assam

‘Digital Nagriks’ not to be experimented with ‘unreliable’ AI models, govt tells Google India   

The Centre on Saturday warned Google India that India’s ‘Digital Nagriks’ are not to be experimented on with ‘unreliable’ algorithms or AI models, as the IT Ministry was in the process of issuing a notice to the tech giant over “problematic and illegal” responses by Google’s Gemini AI.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that the legal obligation to maintain safety and trust lies with the internet and digital platforms.

“Our ‘Digital Nagriks’ are not to be experimented on with ‘unreliable’ platforms/algorithms/models,” said the minister.

Safety and trust is platforms’ legal obligation and ‘Sorry Unreliable’ does not exempt from law,” he stressed.

The minister reacted after Google said earlier in the day that it has worked “quickly to address” the responses generated by its AI platform Gemini regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We’ve worked quickly to address this issue. Gemini is built as a creativity and productivity tool and may not always be reliable, especially when it comes to responding to some prompts about current events, political topics, or evolving news,” a Google spokesperson had told IANS.

“This is something that we’re constantly working on improving,” the spokesperson added.

The company’s generative AI platform Gemini responded in an “objectionable” manner in a response to PM Modi.

The central government has said that this issue is “direct violations of Rule 3(1)(b) of Intermediary Rules (IT rules) of the IT Act and violations of several provisions of the Criminal code.”