Assam: Police to Arrest Thousands More in Child Marriage Crackdown, Targeting Marginalized Communities

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma proclaimed that Assam Police will arrest 2,000 to 3,000 more men in the next ten days as part of its campaign against child marriage. In February this year, the BJP government in the northeastern state launched an unprecedented, punitive crackdown against child marriage in which around 3,141 people had been arrested within a month. A significant portion of those held belongs to marginalized communities, including Muslims and tribal populations. 62.24% of those arrested were Muslims, while the rest were people from other communities including Dalit and Adivasi communities. The arrests were made in four Muslim-dominated districts Nagaon (224), Hojai (219), Dhubri (217) Barpeta (174), and Baksa (179).