News India Live, Digital Desk: For the last few days, a word has been echoing repeatedly in the politics and media of Assam, ‘Polygamy’. That is, a husband marrying more than one wife at the same time. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Sarma) has made it clear that his government is going to ban this practice completely. It may sound like an issue to any one religion or community, but if we look at the government data (NFHS Data), the picture appears a little darker. Let us understand in simple language what is going on. What is the Assam government going to do? Chief Minister Himanta Biswas has announced a bill in the upcoming assembly session. (Bill) will be brought, which will declare polygamy illegal in Assam. The government’s argument is that this is necessary to give women the right to respect and equality. For this, an expert committee was also formed, which has said that the state government has the right to make such a law. That is, now in Assam ‘Second marriage’ is on the verge of becoming a criminal offense. Why are the North-East figures shocking? The practice of multi-marriage is more limited to certain religious communities than we generally assume. But the National Family Health Survey The figures of (NFHS-5) challenge this thinking. You will be surprised to know that the states which have the highest rate of polygamy in India are the states of North-East India. Meghalaya: The rate of polygamy here is 2.4%, which is the highest in the country. Mizoram: Here this figure was seen around 4.1%. (In some special districts). Apart from this, this practice is also present in many places in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. After all, why is it so there? The reason for this is not just ‘religion’. Many tribal tribes in North-East India (Tribes) live in. These communities have their own centuries-old cultural and social traditions. Farming: More people are needed for farming in the hilly areas. There is night, so historically there has been a practice of having more than one wife so that people can help in the work. Social Security: In ancient times This practice was also being followed to provide support to widow women due to child-bearing disputes. But now the times are changing. In the modern society, this practice is being followed to protect the rights of women. Is it only a matter of one community? Not at all. Statistics show that the practice of polygamy is different in all the three communities, Christians, Muslims and Hindus. It exists in different forms and proportions. Its cases are also seen in states like Odisha, Goa and Telangana. Therefore, it would be wrong to look at it only through a religious lens; it is also a social and cultural issue.