Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 27 (HBTV): The Assam Assembly on Thursday passed the Assam Satra Preservation and Development Commission Bill, 2025, aimed at the protection, preservation, management, maintenance, and regulation of the cultural heritage of the Satras and their lands.
After the bill was passed, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the legislation would focus on retrieving land illegally occupied by infiltrators in the state. He stated that the bill would ‘empower our culture, empower our civilisation, and support the ongoing eviction drive in several parts of the state’. He added that the objective was also to recover Satra land that had been illegally occupied, calling it ‘our land’ and ‘our cultural hotspot’.
Meanwhile, the Assam Legislative Assembly also passed the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025. The bill proposes strict punishment, including a jail term of up to 10 years, for entering into a second marriage.
Speaking in the Assembly after the bill was tabled, the Chief Minister cited the example of Turkiye to justify the need for the legislation. He said that the bill was ‘not against Islam’ and urged people to support it to be a ‘true Muslim’. He added that ‘Islam can't promote polygamy’, noting that countries like Turkey had banned the practice and that Pakistan has an arbitration council overseeing marital matters.
The bill passed by the Assembly prohibits and eliminates practices of polygamy and polygamous marriage in Assam. The draft law will apply across the state, except in Sixth Schedule areas, and will also apply to members of any Scheduled Tribe within the meaning of clause (25) of Article 366, read with Article 342 of the Constitution of India.
The bill proposes a 7-year imprisonment for offenders involved in unlawful polygamy and a 10-year imprisonment for concealing a previous marriage. (ANI)