State Governments’ Resolve to End Child Marriage This Akshaya Tritiya 2024; Child Marriage Free India Joins Forces

Eight State Governments direct officials to ensure no child marriage held on Akshaya Tritiya this year Many States resolve to make all Panchayats ‘child marriage free’ State departments ask officials to make religious leaders, Printing Presses, Caterers etc aware of the crime and its consequences Child Marriage Free India campaign, a coalition of 161 NGOs, extends full support to this initiative.

As per the Census 2011, more than 4000 children are forced into marriage in India every day. This number grows significantly during wedding seasons, especially on Akshaya Tritiya when the day is considered auspicious for solemnizing marriages. But given the stance the Centre and State governments have taken this year, this figure may finally witness a decline.

As many as eight state governments that witness a spike in child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya, have issued notifications and directed officials to step up vigil in villages and blocks to prevent any child marriage from being held. Welcoming the unprecedented collective effort undertaken by the governments ahead of Akshaya Tritiya that falls on May 10 this year, Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) campaign has extended its full support in action and spirit to ensure that no child marriages take place in any part of the country. CMFI is a coalition of 161 NGOs working at the grassroots in high-prevalence 257 districts across India to end this deep-rooted social crime in the country by 2030.

“Child marriage is a deep-rooted crime that is accepted in our society. Ending it completely requires a multi-pronged strategy and action involving all the stakeholders. The fact that the Centre and so many state governments have shown such unparalleled determination to uproot child marriage is a promising initiative and CMFI stands united with the governments in this campaign against child marriages. If we can together save children from getting married this Akshaya Tritiya, it would be both a victory and a benchmark for all of us in this united fight, and with this zeal, collaboration and action, India is sure to be free from child marriage by 2030,” said Ravi Kant, Convenor, Child Marriage Free India campaign extending full support to the governments’ order.

Various government departments of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have issued circulars to all district commissioners and village Panchayats to take necessary precautions to prevent any child marriages from occurring. Departments of Women and Child Development, Panchayati Raj, Directorate of Social Security, and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in different states have also directed the Village Panchayats to prepare a marriage register to keep a record of all marriages being solemnized in their villages to prevent any child marriage from happening. Moreover, a lot of these states have also directed the officials to generate awareness among religious leaders such as pundits, maulvis, and padris and other stakeholders such as caterers, printing presses, halwais etc so that they are well aware of the consequences of being party to any child marriage.

Besides the above directions, Haryana WCD has asked all the deputy commissioners to also prepare a school-wise list of drop-outs and long-term absentees as part of the child marriage prevention effort, while the Uttar Pradesh government has made village heads, panchs and Village Level Child Protection Committee responsible for preventing child marriages in their villages. The UP government has also directed maulavis and pundits to verify the bride and groom's age before performing marriage. Panchayati Raj Department of Rajasthan has also issued directions to all district collectors in the state to take all preventive measures to curb child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya. Notably, while hearing a PIL by Just Rights For Children Alliance, the Rajasthan High Court in an interim order directed the state government to ensure that no child marriages occur in Rajasthan during the upcoming Akshaya Tritiya, and also made Panchs and Sarpanchs (village heads) accountable if they fail to prevent child marriages from being solemn