The Assembly on Thursday passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill and the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Bill, a development chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said “would protect the identity of Assam from the clutches of extinction”.

Referring to the passing of the compulsory registration bill, Sarma said it was a “historic day in our effort to fight the social evil of child marriage” as the Act will make it mandatory for registering marriages with the government without contravening the legal age of marriage of 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys.

“It will also act as a strict deterrent against teenage pregnancy and improve overall growth of our girls. I thank all the legislators who pledged their support to this bill and the government’s vision of preventing child marriage. This bill is above party politics and is a means to give our girls a life of dignity. Next banning polygamy.” Sarma posted on X.

Observers said the state government was slowly moving towards a uniform civil code regime, a pet project of the ruling BJP. The compulsory registration bill, which was passed by the cabinet on August 21 and introduced on August 27, was passed with ease because of the majority of the BJP-led alliance in the 126-member Assembly despite Muslim MLAs seeking more discussions.

Sarma assured the minority community that marriages will be held as “per Muslim personal law and Islamic rituals” but the couple will have to register the marriage.

“We want to end child marriage and the role played by qazis. Henceforth, marriages will be registered by government officials, not qazis. We will incorporate amendments as and when required,” he said. The Assembly also passed the Assam Repealing Bill, 2024, to repeal The Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, and the Assam Repealing Ordinance 2024 on Thursday.

Describing the two laws as “landmark” legislation, Sarma posted on X that the first bill “is a safety net for our daughters and closes all loopholes that allowed child
marriages through the back door” while the second bill will “protect the environment around our mandirs, namghars and other heritage structures which are at least 250 years old”.