Skip to main content

Eliminating child marriage? Why is Assam CM so restive despite abuse of law allegation

By Nava Thakuria* 
By 2026, will the Assam government eliminate the menace of child marriage, if one goes by State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s "commitment"? The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Dispur claims to be fighting against the social evil in the State with full political will. Child marriage is a social scourge, and the State government is committed to ensure the evil practice is stopped, states Sarma.
The saffron leader has attracted national and international media headlines with a major crackdown on child marriages launching on 3 February. Assam police forces picked up over 3,000 individuals (including 93 females) following 4,235 registered first information reports across the State. Most of them are still in judicial custody (temporary jails), some got bail and a few remain in the police custody.
The arrested individuals, include mostly the accused and perpetrators, are not targeted because of their religious affiliations, claimed Sarma, adding that the ongoing drive against this social menace will continue till 2026, the year Assam is scheduled to go for the next legislative assembly elections. He also claimed that the crackdown has positively impacted the society as several families lately cancelled pre-scheduled marriages of underage brides (also grooms).
Needless to mention that Sarma is one of the longest serving State health ministers. He took the charge of Assam health ministry in 2006 and continued till 2015 (during the Congress rule). Later he joined the BJP and again took the responsibility in 2016 for a full five years. His tireless efforts to save the lives during the Covid-19 pandemic were well appreciated. In May 2021, he took oath as the State CM and started many missions that remained unaccomplished in previous years. Sarma’s latest priority emerges to bring down mother & infant mortality rates in Assam.
Pointing out that the child marriage is banned in India for nearly a century as it always threatens the lives, well-being and futures of girls, Sarma announced his decision on 26 January to erase the social menace. Later the State cabinet approved the proposal to take stern actions against those men who married underage girls under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Recently, a cabinet sub-committee for taking care of child marriage victims was also formed.
Recent data from the National Family Health Survey reflects that Assam continues to record higher number of child marriages as well as cases of teenage pregnancy than all India levels. It is established that the child marriage in the State has directly influenced the mother and infant mortality rates. Assam loses around 195 mothers among 100,000 during the child births (national average is 97 deaths per 100,000 live births). Similarly, it records 36 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (where national average is 28).
The drive against child marriages, though getting wide support, invited massive public outrages from different corners, and at least two victims of circumstance committed suicides fearing impending police actions. Hundreds of young women (some may have attained minimum legal age of marriage ie 18 years) gathered in the police stations crying for their husbands' release. Many lodged protest demonstrations against the administrative action towards their ‘innocent’ husbands and relatives.
Guwahati High Court criticized the government for detaining people with non-bailable charges under the POCSO Act, rape, etc. 
Opposition parties including the Congress, Asom Jatiya Parishad, All India United Democratic Front, etc. also criticized the action terming it an abuse of law for political gains. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi came down heavily against the BJP-led government for the mass arrests concerning the unlawful marriages. They alleged that the drive was planned to harass the Muslim families in the State. Owaisi also questioned CM Sarma about the fate of girls and women whose husbands were taken into custody.
The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation also urged the government to immediately sanction at least Rs 2,000 per month (from the CM’s relief fund) as financial assistance to the affected teenagers/women whose husbands have been detained or arrested. The foundation, even though supports the government initiatives to eradicate the menace of child marriage by penalizing the perpetrators, insisted on extending due financial and legal supports to the victims. It also asked the concerned authorities not to ignore the children born out of child marriages.
Even the higher court in Guwahati criticized the government for detaining all these people with non-bailable charges under the POCSO Act, rape, etc. and creating havoc in their private lives. Granting the anticipatory bail to a group of individuals over the crime, Gauhati High Court observed that there was no need for custodial interrogation of the accused persons. It termed the mass arrest of individuals as a bad idea considering the children and elder members in their families. The court emphasized a society-driven change over the issue than adopting punitive actions.
Unmoved by the criticism, Sarma recently claimed that the stringent step, first of its kind in India by any State government, received necessary support from various sections in the society including the religious minority leaders. With an aim to pursue zero tolerance against this social menace, he emphasized on a robust ecosystem in Assam against the illegal practice of child marriage. He insisted, that the government and law enforcement agencies along with the village heads, self-help groups, etc. must be made the stakeholders in the ecosystem.
---
*Senior journalist based in Assam

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan   M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.
Post a Comment
»

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”
Post a Comment
»

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai*  The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.
Post a Comment
»

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.
Post a Comment
»

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.
Post a Comment
»

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

​ By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  ​The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.
Post a Comment
»

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan*  An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...
2 comments
»

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative   Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).
Post a Comment
»

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative   A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.
Post a Comment
»