NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 28, 2011 (Hindustan Times): Ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, the Centre has decided to accede to the long-standing demand of the Sikh community for enacting a separate Anand Marriage Act, giving legal sanctity to the marriages under Sikh religion, official sources said.
Prior to Independence, marriages among Sikhs were held under the Anand Marriage Act in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib and the practice continued till 1955 when the Sikh Marriage Act was replaced and included in the Hindu Marriage Act, clubbing four communities together– Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain.
Several political, religious groups and individuals, including former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and Congress leader R.S. Jaura, have appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram for enactment of a separate law for solemnizing Sikh marriages.
However, the Centre has been refraining from acting on it it apparently apprehending that it could lead to similar demands from other communities covered under the Hindu Marriage Act.