Polygamy in India

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Polygamy in India

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Polygamy is illegal in India for Hindus and other religious groups under the Hindu marriage Act. It remains legal for Muslims under the terms of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, as interpreted by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board" According to the 1961 census (the last census to record such data), polygamy was actually less prevalent among Indian Muslims (5.7%) than among several other religious groups.[1] Incidence was highest among Adivasis (15.25%) and Buddhists (7.9%); Hindus, by comparison, had an incidence of 5.8%.[2][3] Although there are movements to end polygamy,[4] many seek to preserve the practice.[5]

Conversion to Islam for polygamy

There have been many incidents of non-Muslim men converting to Islam solely with the purpose of practicing polygamy legally. For example, actor Dharmendra has been reported to have converted to Islam so that he could legally marry actress Hema Malini as his second wife.[6] In December 2008, a controversy arose when the then Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, Chander Mohan, and Anuradha Bali, the former Assistant Advocate General of Haryana, converted to Islam adopting the names Chand Mohammad and Fiza, so that Mohan could marry Bali as his second wife. However he converted back to Hinduism after a while. Such incidents have raised concerns over the use of Islam for polygamy.[7]

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