– Vinayak Barot
Guwahati: Ahead of Assembly election in Assam next year – Sarbananda Sonowal government is planning to bring an act that will require the bride and groom to declare their religion and income in official documents a month before their marriage, report says.
State Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that “The law will empower our sisters by bringing transparency. Assam’s law is not against ‘love jihad’. It would be inclusive of all religions and would empower our sisters by bringing transparency. One will have to disclose not only religion but earning sources, complete family details, education etc. Many times even in same religion marriage we have found that the girl later finds that the husband is in an illegal business.”
The proposed marriage law will require couples to declare their family details, education, source of income, profession, permanent address along with religion in a prescribed form one month before the wedding. A failure to do this will result in legal action, Biswa Sarma said.
Further Biswa Sarma said that “Assam’s love will be similar to the one passed in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh but will have its own twist. Our law will empower women. It will have some elements of the law in UP and MP,”
On Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel gave assent to an ordinance against forcible or ‘dishonest’ religious conversions and many other BJP ruling states including Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana have been mulling to bring into effect a law against ‘love jihad’.
In Love Jihad – other religious boys allegedly framing relationships with Hindu girls and then Hindu women are being forced to change her religion under the guise of marriage as part of a nefarious scheme.
Many well-known media in India – have already published incidents in which Hindu girls were forced to change their religion after marriage.