India, 2400 arrests in the crackdown decided by the head of the government of the state of Assam to stop the marriages of girls under 18

GUWAHATI (AsiaNews) – In the Indian state of Assam, the number of arrests made by the local police rose to 2,441 in the operation commissioned by the head of the local government, Himanta Biswas Sarma, a member of the Hindu nationalists of the BJP, to stamp out the phenomenon of underage brides. According to Indian law, marriage is officially illegal under the age of 18, but it is a widespread practice: according to estimates in India, in 2 marriages officiated every 10, at least one of the spouses is a minor. In Assam – one of the poorest states in India – the story affects the Muslim community in a particular way, which refers to a special statute that allows marriage from puberty. The Sarma government, on the other hand, maintains that the federal law should apply to everyone and for this reason he is accused of wanting to use the pretext of child brides to strike the Islamic minority.

But the families protest: “They deprive us of a source of income”. Against the arrests – which hit husbands, fathers and wedding officiants – women took to the streets in these hours, protesting claiming that the repressive action has in fact deprived their families of the only source of livelihood. They do not believe the Assam government’s promises of subsidies for them. In the district of Dhubri, one of those that recorded the highest number of arrests, there were also clashes with the police who dispersed the crowd with the use of tear gas.

“It is an instrumental campaign”. Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of Aimim, the local Islamic party, also speaks of an instrumental campaign: “We are against child marriage – he declared -. But what is the advantage of upsetting established families with adult children? It’s nothing more than a publicity stunt.” “Experts – he added – say that to stop child marriages, many schools should be opened, but in 6 years of government the BJP has not done so. On the contrary, it has also closed the madrassas that imparted some form of education”. Criticisms of the current operation have also come from the Congress Party and All India United Democratic Front. Already last year, the BJP took advantage of the question of marriage between minors by launching a federal bill in New Delhi which – if approved by parliament – would raise the minimum age for marriage to 21 years. Also on that occasion the Muslim community had raised heavy criticisms alleging the violation of the Islamic law on the status of the person.