Bengali Hindus entering into matrimony with Assamese families will get cash incentives
Bengali Hindu boys or girls who will choose their life partner from the Assamese community, will be given a financial assistance of RS:40,000 per person. This assistance will be given under a new scheme proposed by the State Linguistic Minorities Development Board. Through this new scheme efforts are being made to strengthen the relationship between the two communities.
Alok Kumar Ghosh, Chairman of State Linguistic Minorities Development Board, said, “Couples who are from two different communities are often evicted from their homes and deprived from their rightful properties. Apart from this, they also face social boycott. Our effort is to provide a financial assistance to such couples, so that they can sustain on their own. This assistance will help them to start a business on their own, such as opening a shop, a beauty parlour or it can be invested in farming”. The proposal was presented to the state government few days back. For this purpose, a website has also been designed, where Bengali-Assamese Hindu couple can register their names, address and other information online.
While Ghosh claimed the initiative would bring the two communities close, the All Assam Minorities Students Union termed the proposed scheme as “divisive” and accused the board of trying to indulge in religious polarisation. “The government has been taking steps steps to create divisions between Hindus and Muslims. The boards proposal is just another example of this. Rather than providing assistance along religious lines, the board could have extended help to financially week Bengali people who marries anyone from any community or religion”, said Rejaul Karim Sarkar, President of the students union.
All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation president Samra Bhowal said his organisation would back any initiative to remove “mistrust” between the Bengalis and Assamese. “There have been some incidents of late that have created mistrust between the two communities. This (the offer of financial to inter-community Hindu couples) is a timely approach and we welcome it”.
