Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government would continue its crackdown on child marriages and a special drive against the social evil would be conducted every six months. Sarma's comments come after an NGO report on Wednesday maintained that the state government's action against child marriage has led to a decline in the number of such cases.
He said the director general of police (DGP) has been instructed to conduct a preliminary survey for the next round of crackdown on child marriages towards the year-end. "Our campaign and tough action against child marriage will continue. Every six months a special drive will be conducted, and the DGP has been instructed to conduct a preliminary survey for the next crackdown on child marriages in November-December this year," the CM said in a video message on Wednesday evening.
Initially, some people were "not happy with the crackdown against child marriages, but now people are preventing the social evil, even in minority areas," he said. Sarma said the data of the India Child Protection (ICP) report is a "testament to our sustained efforts in empowering Nari Shakti (women power)".
As per data from the National Crime Record Bureau and also from a survey covering 1,132 villages in 20 districts of the state, 30 per cent of these areas have reported "complete eradication" of child marriage, while 40 per cent have seen a "significant decline" in the once-rampant practice of the social evil, the report said. The villages surveyed have a total population of 21 lakh, with a child population of eight lakh.
In 12, out of the 20 districts, over 90 per cent of respondents believe that taking legal action such as arresting individuals and filing FIRs in cases related to child marriages can effectively address the occurrence of such cases, the report stated.
Taking to X, Sarma said, "This exceptional report by @IndiaCPOrg is shining testament to our sustained efforts in empowering Nari Shakti. With over 3,000 arrests and our zero-tolerance approach has led to an 81 per cent decline in child marriages since 2021. We will not rest, till we eliminate this social evil."
The report, Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage', was released on World Day for International Justice on Wednesday in New Delhi. It stated that there has been an 81 per cent reduction in the instances of child marriage across 20 districts of Assam between 2021-22 and 2023-24, maintaining that the state government's emphasis on legal intervention in such cases is the reason for it.
The state government, led by Sarma, had launched an intensified crackdown against child marriages from February 2022 across the state through legal means as well as awareness campaigns.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, who was present at the release of the report, said, “Prosecution is definitely the key to ending this crime against children, and the Assam model to end child marriages has shown the country the way forward.”
“The commission is extremely clear on its stand that no child can be married in the guise of religion. Both POCSO and PCMA laws are secular laws and supersede all personal laws,” he added.
Noted child rights activist and founder of Child Marriage Free India Bhuwan Ribhu said that Assam's emphasis on legal action is the best public awareness message to create the deterrence of child marriage. “Most people in Assam today believe that prosecution is the key to ending child marriage. This message must go from Assam and spread across the country to create a child marriage-free India,” Ribhu said.
Child Marriage Free India, of which ICP is a part, is a nationwide campaign started in 2022 and has almost 200 NGO partners working across the country.