{"id":186787,"date":"2025-10-30T10:28:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T05:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=186787"},"modified":"2025-10-30T10:28:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T05:28:46","slug":"bjps-proposed-polygamy-and-love-jihad-laws-in-assam-spark-outrage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2025\/10\/30\/bjps-proposed-polygamy-and-love-jihad-laws-in-assam-spark-outrage.html","title":{"rendered":"BJP\u2019s proposed \u2018polygamy\u2019 and \u2018love jihad\u2019 laws in Assam spark outrage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-186788\" src=\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/10\/hq720-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"686\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/10\/hq720-2.jpg 686w, https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/10\/hq720-2-390x220.jpg 390w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 686px) 100vw, 686px\" \/>Guwahati: In India\u2019s Assam state, the BJP government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has drawn sharp criticism for proposing new laws to criminalize polygamy and so-called \u201clove jihad\u201d \u2014 measures widely seen as part of a communal campaign targeting Muslims.<\/p>\n<p>According to Kashmir Media Service, Chief Minister Sarma announced that anyone marrying a second time without a legal divorce would face up to seven years in prison, claiming the new legislation would promote \u201csocial reform.\u201d However, Muslim leaders and rights groups have condemned the move, calling it a politically motivated attempt to stigmatize Muslims ahead of state elections.<\/p>\n<p>Ilyas Ahmed, a senior advocate at the Guwahati High Court, said the proposed bill violates constitutional protections and interferes with Muslim Personal Law. \u201cPolygamy among Muslims in Assam is nearly extinct. This is not about reform \u2014 it\u2019s about using religion to divide voters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Critics pointed out that the government has ignored polygamy still practised among several tribal and Hindu communities in the state. Political analyst Ranjit Hazarika noted, \u201cIf the government was serious about equality, the law would apply to all. By focusing only on Muslims, it exposes its communal agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Official data contradicts the government\u2019s narrative, showing that polygamy is lower among Muslims (1.9%) than among Hindus, Christians, or Scheduled Tribes. Social researcher Dr Farzana Rahman said, \u201cThe BJP is manufacturing a Muslim issue to distract from unemployment and poverty in Assam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rights groups also accused the Sarma government of a pattern of anti-Muslim measures \u2014 from evicting Muslim families to demolishing madrasas \u2014 calling the proposed laws \u201cthe latest step in legalising persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advocate Nilofar Rahman warned that such legislation violates Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom. \u201cThis is not reform \u2014 it\u2019s a weaponisation of law to marginalise an entire community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Guwahati: In India\u2019s Assam state, the BJP government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has drawn sharp criticism for proposing new laws to criminalize polygamy and so-called \u201clove jihad\u201d \u2014 measures widely seen as part of a communal campaign targeting Muslims. According to Kashmir Media Service, Chief Minister Sarma announced that anyone marrying a &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":186788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hindutva"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/10\/hq720-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186787"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186789,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186787\/revisions\/186789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}