Tag: Child Marriage Prevention Act

‘A Humanitarian Crisis Unfolding in Assam; Big Boss Is Watching It Quietly’

‘A Humanitarian Crisis Unfolding in Assam; Big Boss Is Watching It Quietly’

By LokMarg

Nazimuddin Siddique from Assam feels that arrests in the name of child marriages are an extension of the NRC to enforce a tactical eviction of Muslims from the state

Child marriage is a long-standing problem in Assam. No right-thinking person can support this social malaise. But the question is: how do you stop it. Assam is one of the poorest states in the country. Child marriage exists here due to poverty, illiteracy, lack of awareness, and social exclusion. The solution to such social practices is long-winding but this government wants a quick and surgical remedy, with use of brutal force.

The state is making arrests of the alleged child marriage violators even when these persons married years ago and now have families to feed. They are arresting the sole breadwinners of such families. Will that be stemming a malaise or causing additional miseries on poor families? I do not have the data but child marriage is prevalent across all communities in Assam. The government could not stop child marriages when it took place; but it is punishing the people for its own failure. Do they even realize the scale of the underlying humanitarian disaster? Over 4,000 people have already been arrested. Where will it stop?

Many believe, and not without reason, that this is just another tool to harass Muslim electorate of Assam. This is not the first time when a legal instrument is being implied to target Muslims, be it the NRC (National Register of Citizen) or eviction drives. The government which is duty bound to look after the welfare of its citizens, is rendering them homeless and selectively so. (Read APCR report on Assam clampdown here)

Many Hindus were also arrested but the scale of arrests is tilted in favour of Muslims. Reports also suggest that Hindus arrested under the provision usually get bail. The way you can violate the human rights of Muslims, you can’t do with Hindus.

Siddique says it is easy to arrest a Muslim in India nowadays

Arresting a Muslim is the easiest thing in India nowadays. Civil society among Hindus is vocal. Surprisingly and unfortunately they remain silent, by and large, when it comes to the rights violation of Muslims. Muslims in Assam are systematically facing evictions, encounters, NRC, doubtful voter, and now child marriage crackdown. It is heart-wrenching.

ALSO READ: ‘Child Marriage Yet Another Ploy To Target Muslims In Assam’

I feel the judiciary needs to step in and put an end to such injustice. As per reports, Assam recorded 161 incidents of police action in the first 13 months of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma taking charge in May 2021. These incidents resulted in the death of 51 people while 139 others were injured. Numbers came down when the court interfered.

I am thankful to Gauhati High Court for its intervention in child marriage arrests too. The HC come down heavily on the Assam government for slapping laws such as POCSO against the accused of child marriage cases. It looks like the judiciary is the only way out for the oppressed now. But we all know the process itself is the punishment. Our Constitution guarantees the right to equality and life with dignity. If the government fails to do that, then the judiciary must hold the government of the day for its failure.

I am also disappointed at the apathy of the Centre in this episode. Himanta Biswa Sarma can go to any length in targeting Muslims. He does not need any sanctions from the Centre. We know how will the Central leadership act or react. The Big Boss in Delhi is watching the humanitarian disaster unfold right before his eyes, but won’t bat an eyelid.

The narrator is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Nagaland University

Read More:http://13.232.95.176/

As told to Abhishek Srivastava

Assam Child Marriage Prevention Act

‘Anti-Child Marriage Campaign A Ploy To Target Assam Muslims’

By LokMarg

Dr Dibyajyoti Saikia a human rights and social activist in Guwahati, says Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying to please the RSS leadership by repeatedly launching anti-Muslim drives

On the directions of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP-led Assam government has created a stir across the state and in India by arresting 2,000 men within the first 48 hours of the current anti-child marriage operation. About 3,000 people have been arrested so far. The district court has released 24 people on bail within 24 hours after their arrest in Majuli — the world’s largest river island and a precious heritage site.

If you closely examine the current controversy, not only have individuals from one community been arrested, or, people who believe in a certain religion have been targeted, but people from other communities and religions have also been arrested in the name of preventing child marriage. One thing is true — among those arrested, the number of arrests of Muslim people is the highest.

From the day the campaign started, till date, two women have died of heart attack. There has been widespread fear, anxiety and suffering. But the government is oblivious of the misery and distress it has caused to the people it is meant to serve. Clearly, there is an agenda behind the whole campaign.

ALSO READ: ‘NRC – Misinformation Is Rife, Muslims Are Scared’

Currently, it seems that the policy of the BJP is to garner the votes of Hindus by opposing ordinary Muslims, and not only by the use of speech. Interestingly, the BJP leaders have a good relationship with Muslim leaders of the state. It appears to me that both sides have been happily polarizing society and playing politics with the common man.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been playing to the gallery to appease the hardliner in the saffron family. The RSS would love the chief minister if he continued taking anti-Muslim stances. Keeping the RSS pleased is a task now being undertaken by the current chief minister. However, this doesn’t mean that the chief minister loves Hindus a lot. In the current circumstances, the BJP government in the state has no other programme than playing politics of vested interests.

The failure of the NRC (National Register of Citizens) and CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) in Assam and India is a reality. But, though I can’t say it straight away, the current move on Child Marriage Prevention campaign is an alternative plan. I think the present chief minister has a personal agenda to keep the communal pot boiling. He routinely makes provocative (read anti-Muslim) comments to corner publicity and staying in limelight at the national level.

One thing is certain: this anti-child marriage campaign has scared a large number of Muslims in Assam. They are being intimidated and harassed. It will require a social movement by civil society in the state and at national level to uncover the BJP campaign and force them to withdraw such blatantly communal campaigns.

As told to Amit Sengupta