All India United Democratic Fund (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal, who has been caught making multiple outlandish remarks in the past, is back in the spotlight for yet another ludicrous remark. At a time when the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam government is mulling to outlaw polygamy in the state, Badruddin Ajmal, the chairman of the All India United Democratic Front, has claimed that Muslims generally believe in monogamy and it is the Hindus who are polygamous.
Ajmal told reporters here on Friday, “The BJP and Assam Chief Minister have snatched everything from the Muslim people residing in the state. They do not have jobs or money and moreover, Himanta Biswa Sarma is not allowing the Muslim people to sell vegetables in the streets for their living. Thus, Muslims even if they want to, cannot marry more than once.”
The Dhubri Lok Sabha MP lamented that Muslims in Assam cannot marry more than once even if they want to as they are jobless. He added that nowadays Hindus often have multiple wives.
Here, the AIUDF chief should be reminded that as per Sharia or Muslim personal law, a Muslim man can remarry without divorcing his first wife and is allowed to have four wives in polygam though a Muslim woman does not have that right. Meanwhile, under Hindu law, which applies to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, the practice of polygamy is prohibited. In fact, individuals governed by Hindu law can face criminal proceedings under Sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code.
Last year BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay and some Muslim women, including, Naisa Hasan, Shabnam, Farzana, Samina Begum, and Mohsin Kathiri, filed petitions challenging the constitutional validity of polygamy and nikah halala.
All these petitions have sought that these practices of Muslim society should be declared unconstitutional and illegal. The petitioners contended that practices such as polygamy and nikah halala violate the fundamental rights of Muslim women.
When AIMPLB batted for Nikah Halala and Polygamy
In fact, when the plea was heard in the Supreme Court, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board batted in favour of Polygamy and the terribly oppressive practice of Nikah Halala. The AIMPLB emphasized that ‘Mohammedan Law is based on Holy Quran and Hadith’ and that such practices can’t be tested on the basis of fundamental rights.
Despite the fact that all of these details are public knowledge, the AIUDF chief’s remark comes as no surprise given his history of making such outrageous statements. In fact in July this year, the AIUDF chief suggested that polygamy is a non-issue within the Muslim community. He said, “According to them, all Muslims have 4 wives and they want to stop it. I have put forth this challenge – If 1 lakh Muslims gather together, then maybe 1, 2 or 3 of them have 4 wives”
“Here people are unable to raise 1 or 2 kids. Are they mentally unstable to keep 4 wives? Whoever has the financial means, let them do… But who has multiple wives? Rickshaw pullers, cart pullers, fruit vendors and illiterate people,” the Lok Sabha MP further alleged.
AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal claimed under UCC both men and women will have to wear sarees
Badruddin Ajmal’s aforementioned remark had come amidst the debate surrounding the Uniform Civil Code. The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Badruddin Ajmal had then mistook the proposed law for uniformity in food and dress.
While speaking about the matter on Friday (July 14) in the Dhubri district of Assam, he claimed, “A debate has been sparked off over Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The bill will be tabled before the Parliament soon…After UCC is implemented, we will start wearing saree and you also do the same…”
“Men and women both need to wear a saree. When UCC comes into force, everyone will have to wear a saree. We will maintain a long beard for a year and you too do the same for a year. Uniformity, right?” he brazened it out.
सांसद बदरुद्दीन बोले, यूसीसी लागू होने पर पांच साल तक पहनेंगे साड़ी, बढ़ाएंगे दाढ़ी और नहीं खाएंगे मांस,देखिए VIDEO pic.twitter.com/XybVK7XJxo
— India TV (@indiatvnews) July 13, 2023
Assam Govt mulls to ban polygamy
Badruddin Ajmal’s bizarre claim that Hindus and not Muslims believe in polygamy came as a reaction to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s assertion that there is strong public support favouring the ban on polygamy in the state.
Informing that the draft of a law to ban polygamy in the state will be ready within the next 45 days, the Assam CM had said on September 2 that the state government has received as many as 149 proposals in response to a public notice that asked for input on the proposed law that would prohibit the practice of being married to more than one person at a time.
Out of these, 146 recommendations are in favour of the legislation which demonstrated a substantial amount of support from the people. Three organisations, however, responded that they opposed it. This shows that almost 98% of the responses support the move, while only 2% oppose it.
– Update on proposed bill for banning polygamy –
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 2, 2023
We have received a total of 149 suggestions in response to our public notice. Out of these, 146 suggestions are in favor of the bill, indicating strong public support. However, 3 organizations have expressed their opposition to the…
Polygamy is permissible and legal exclusively for Muslims in nations such as India, Singapore, as well as Malaysia. Polygamy is still recognised and practised in several Islamic nations such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, UAE, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Nigeria and Cameroon. These are the only areas in the world where polygamy is still legal.
Though India has seen a decline in instances of polygamy across religions and demographies, the practice is still prevalent in the Muslim community. For example last year, a 28-year-old Muslim woman petitioned a court, seeking to prevent her husband from taking another wife without her written consent. Describing his action as “unconstitutional, anti-sharia, illegal, arbitrary, harsh, inhuman and barbaric”, she had said in court that “this practice (polygamy) needs to be regulated to curb the plight of Muslim women”.
