Assam Bengalis to Get Rs 40,000 Each for Marrying Assamese Partners?

Guwahati, February 18, 2020:

The Assam Linguistic Minority Development Board (ALMDB) has submitted a proposal to the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal-led government to grant a sum of Rs 40,000 to couples from Assamese and Bengali speaking Hindu communities.

According to the ALMDB, the step will further help strengthen the ties of brotherhood between the two communities. Chairman, ALMDB, Alok Kumar Ghosh said, “To strengthen ties of brotherhood between both communities and to take the state forward, the board has asked the government to provide couples of inter-community marriages with some cash incentive.”

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The Minority Board’s proposal to the Assam government is intended to help the newly married couples belonging from financially weak families to set up their businesses. “It is for the government to decide the amount. If the couples are given around Rs 30,000, they would be able to open a ‘paan’ shop or a small beauty parlour,” he said adding the scheme would not benefit non-Hindu Bengali speakers.

While the ALMDB has supported its move with their positive approach, some have criticized the same. According to the All Assam Minority Students’ Union, the move was an “agenda to polarize” people.

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“This is a part of the BJP’s agenda to polarise Hindu votes by targeting Muslims in Assam ahead of the assembly polls next year. It would create more problems in the state,” Union’s president, Rejaul Karim Sarkar added.

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