Polygamy is illegal in India for Hindus and other religious groups under the Hindu Marriage Act. It remains legal for Muslims under the terms of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, as interpreted by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board" There have been many incidents of non-Muslim men converting to Islam solely with the purpose of practicing polygamy legally. [6] In December 2008, a controversy arose when the then Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, Chander Mohan, and Anuradha Bali, the former Assistant Advocate General of Haryana, converted to Islam adopting the names Chand Mohammad and Fiza, so that Mohan could marry Bali as his second wife. However he converted back to Hinduism after a while. Such incidents have raised concerns over the use of Islam for polygamy. My question here comes is why there is a need for Muslim personal law? Not only polygamy there are other features which require rethinking. Now the time has come to think forward of ammending the same.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 09:08:30 +0000