Child marriage still exists; nearly 70 Indian districts are early marriage “hotspots”: Study

There is no doubt that the child marriage is a social evil and it is the violation of the fundamental rights assured by the Constitution of India. Despite the existence of powerful law in our country to fight this irrational tradition, this practice, according to the study report publicized by Supreme Court Judge A K Sikri, still exists in several regions of our country. A study conducted by Young Lives, in association with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on the 2011 Census published by the Indian government, reveals that nearly seventy districts that spread across thirteen states are highly vulnerable to the Child Marriage. It is learned that Rajasthan is one of the states in which the highest number of child marriage cases have been reported. From the study report, it is apparent that the urban areas are more vulnerable to this social tradition than the rural areas. It is the first time that such a detailed study has been conducted using the census report. The report is considered as one of the most authentic reports available in this area of study. Importantly, the study indirectly arrives at an assessment that there is a conflict exist between the Prevention of the Child Marriage Act and the Personal laws even if it is not intended to support the Unified Civil Code plea. It is identified that these illogical practices cannot be fully curtailed with the implementation of strict laws so if the authority genuinely wants to eliminate this evil from the society it needs to ensure the cooperation of the society. The officials should keep one thing in their mind that the dowry laws have partially failed because it has not attained the support of the society.

Vignesh

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