In a meeting in Barak Valley, the Chief Minister of Assam HimantaBiswaSarma announced that he would soon introduce a bill, seeking a ban on polygamy in the state. If the bill is passed in the assembly, it would imprison a man for seven years in prison if he marries multiple women at a time. Almost 90%of men in Assam practise monogamy.
However, the basic objective behind the bill is to check and regulate population growth in the state. And I think, he wants to pass the bill targeting mainly some Muslims practising polygamy due to some genuine causes. In fact, polygamy too assists in combating population growth. A survey report reveals that the number of children given birth to by four women if they are married to four husbands separately is much more than the number of children given birth to by those four women if they are married to a single husband at a time.
Under some circumstances, a husband may be really compelled to marry a second wife if his first wife loses fertility, failing to bear child to him. Again, if his first wife has been unable to satisfy his sexual desires owing to her some perennial diseases, he may need to marry a second wife.
If polygamy is thus prohibited, the pressing need of relieving from sexual tension may drive him to adultery which is in opposition to the ethic, culture, civilization and tenets of all religions. So, there is also necessity of polygamy in a society as it has much potentiality to act as a deterrent to the population growth and adultery.
Muhammad Abdus Samad
Ambari,Dhupdhara Assam
Mustafabad in Lakhimpur Kheri District of UP to be Renamed as‘Kabir Dham’?
The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath recently visited Mustafabad village in Lakhimpur Kheri district. He asked about the village and came to know that it is named Mustafabad. He asked about the Muslim population there and was told that no Muslim family lives there.He assuredthe residents that they would rename the village as “Kabir Dham”. He said that in the past Ayodhya and Prayagraj were renamed Faizabad and Allahabad respectively to hurtpeople’s sentiments. If a Muslim-looking village name can be changed simply because no Muslims live there; the same logic, any place with no Hindus should also be named with a ‘Muslim’ name. But obviously, that would never happen.
This clearly shows that the decision to rename placesis not based on demographics but on political or ideological rather divisive motives.In democracy and secular societies, namesof places are chosen based on historical, geographical, or cultural significance, not religion.
Chowdhry Nisar Ahmed
Ambur, Tamil Nadu
‘A Fragile Dawn on the Durand Line’
Your analysis of the post-ceasefire situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan [Dr. M. Iqbal Siddiqui, Radiance Viewsweekly, 8 Nov. 2025] is both insightful and balanced. Afghanistan’s rugged terrain and volatile political landscape have, for centuries, made it nearly impossible for any external power to maintain lasting control. Despite repeated interventions, both the US and Russia were eventually compelled to withdraw. While Pakistan continues to pursue alliances driven by its strategic concerns, Afghanistan today appears to be a responsibility few are willing to shoulder.
Yet, the country’s history remains a testament to its resilience and indomitable warrior spirit. Even conquests such as the brief occupation of Kabul by Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s general, Hari Singh Nalwa, serve as reminders of how difficult it has always been to subdue Afghanistan. Your piece effectively captures these complexities and the tragic irony that two of South Asia’s poorest nations remain entangled in cycles of conflict and mistrust.
Had the Partition not taken place, Afghanistan too might have been part of a greater Indian subcontinent, with Hindustan’s frontiers far more expansive. The political decision that divided the nation did not merely draw new borders – it fractured the peace and harmony that had bound its people for centuries. Communities that had lived together – Hindus and Muslims alike – found themselves torn apart by lines that continue to shape destinies to this day.
Sardar Onkar Singh
Jaipur, Rajasthan