NEW DELHI—The Government of India has made an announcement that it will allow Sikhs to register their marriages under a separate marriage act. In the past, all Sikh marriages had to be registered under the Hindu marriage act—the same is true for marriage registrations of members of other non-Hindus in India. Sikhs have long battled for implementation of their own marriage act and if the announcement does become a law, it will be welcomed by the entire Sikh community.
Since close to its inception, the Government of India has forced all Indians to register their marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act and it meant taking the marriage oath as a Hindu, even for Sikhs and other minorities.
This was a major human rights violation for members of minority communities living in India. Under the British, Sikhs had the option to register their marriages as per the Anand Marriage Act (separate from the Hindu Marriage Act) but this act was nullified by the Government of India after independence.
According to Union Minister Kapil Sibal, the Cabinet has approved the introduction of a bill that will allow Sikh marriages as per the Anand Marriage Act of 1909. This announcement was made in the budget session of Parliament.
Various Sikh organizations, including the SGPC, have pressed the Indian Government to bring the Anand Marriage Act into law. As per media reports and past developments, Law Minister Salman Khurshid played a vital role in the recent developments announced at the budget session.
