Assam plans law for 'transparency in marriage'; will mandate religion & income declaration

The BJP-led government in Assam has started drafting new legislation that will require the bride and groom to declare their religion and income in official documents a month before the wedding. Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that the law will be "empowering for women"

'We have started drafting legislation'

"One shouldn't get married if there's no transparency between husband and wife. Disclosure's important-my religion, what I do for a living, what's my income. Not saying that you should disclosure only your religion, you should also disclose your income and job," Sarma said in Guwahati. 

"Our idea is not the so-called 'Love Jihad'. My idea is that you should not hide your identity, job or income. Assam is going to do something which won't be against any religion. It'll have transparency in marriage. We have started drafting legislation. It will be mandatory for all marriages. There will be a disclosure pro forma given to a wife who will give it to her husband. It won't be only about religion but everything that a wife needs to know. It won't be in line with Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It'll be empowering women," the BJP leader said, according to ANI.

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This comes ahead of the Assembly polls in Assam next year and in the backdrop of several BJP-ruled states, including Haryana, Karnataka and Bihar, planning of introducing a law to check "love jihad". Meanwhile last week, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel promulgated 'Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020' days after it was passed by the cabinet led by CM Yogi Adityanath.

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What is 'Love Jihad'? 

As per some organizations, 'love jihad' refers to inter-religious marriages where the woman converts to Islam either by force or guile in order to marry a Muslim man. In 2010, the then Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan had accused PFI and some other organizations of planning to turn the state into a Muslim-majority state by doling out money. Earlier this year, MoS Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy informed the Parliament that 'love jihad' is not defined under the current laws. Moreover, he stated that no case of 'love jihad' has been reported by any of the Central agencies.

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