UPSC Editorial Analysis: Sharp decline in child marriages in India

General Studies-1; Topic: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

Introduction

• A recent survey by Just Rights for Children (JRC) — a network of over 250 NGOs working for child protection — has reported a remarkable decline in child marriages across India.
• The decline signifies that legal deterrence, community awareness, and institutional collaboration can work synergistically to transform entrenched social practices.

Significance of the Decline

• A Human Rights Victory
  • Child marriage violates the fundamental rights of children — especially girls — to education, health, and autonomy.
  • Its decline reflects India’s progress towards SDG-5 (Gender Equality) and commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
• Health and Demographic Gains
  • Early marriage often leads to early pregnancy, increasing risks of maternal mortality, low birth weight, and malnutrition.
  • Delaying marriage improves reproductive health and contributes to demographic stability by spacing births.
• Educational and Economic Empowerment
  • When girls remain in school longer, their earning potential and social mobility increase.
  • This creates a multiplier effect—better education reduces inter-generational poverty and raises overall human capital.
• Shift in Social Norms
  • A steep decline challenges the perception that early marriage is culturally inevitable.
  • Norm change begins when communities see visible enforcement and positive examples of girls pursuing education.

Key Findings of the Survey

• Assam showed the highest decline (84%), followed by Maharashtra and Bihar (70% each), Rajasthan (66%), and Karnataka (55%).
• While three children were being married every minute during 2019-21, by 2025, only three cases were reported in an entire day.
• 99% of respondents had heard about the government’s Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign — showing near-universal awareness.
• In 31% of surveyed villages, all girls aged 6-18 attended school, though Bihar lagged behind significantly.
• Poverty (91%) and concerns for girls’ safety (44%) were cited as the main reasons for child marriage.

Major Drivers Behind the Decline

• Effective Legal Deterrence
  • FIRs and arrests were found to be the most effective deterrents.
  • Assam’s proactive enforcement under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 set a national example of zero tolerance.
  • The certainty of punishment, not just severity, discouraged offenders.
• Widespread Awareness Campaigns
  • The Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign achieved mass outreach through schools, media, and Panchayats.
  • Awareness created community ownership over child rights rather than relying solely on police intervention.
• Community-Based Mechanisms
  • In Karnataka, reporting was channeled through helplines and Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), reflecting higher trust in local systems.
  • Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs) empowered to register marriages helped prevent around 2,000 child marriages in 2021.
  • Karnataka’s decision to criminalise child betrothal closed legal loopholes effectively.
• Multi-Sectoral Collaboration
  • The success was built on joint action between state governments, police, education, and civil society organisations.
  • This collaborative model integrated legal, social, and economic interventions at the grassroots.

Remaining Challenges

• Under-Reporting and Hidden Marriages
  • Some regions may report decline on paper while marriages continue informally, especially in rural and tribal areas.
• Entrenched Social Norms
  • Deep-rooted notions of honour, caste, and family prestige continue to drive early marriages.
• Economic Vulnerability
  • Poverty and insecurity still push families to marry off daughters early.
  • Gains may reverse during economic shocks or disasters unless backed by safety nets.
• Institutional Capacity Gaps
  • Frontline workers (PDOs, Anganwadi, ASHA) often lack adequate training, funds, or supervision to intervene effectively.
• Need for Better Data
  • Independent evaluation and verification are required to ensure that progress is real, not cosmetic.

Policy Recommendations

• Compulsory Registration of Marriages
  • Making marriage registration mandatory nationwide would prevent manipulation of age records and aid enforcement.
  • Digitisation and linking registration to Aadhaar or education databases can ensure traceability.
• Targeted Social Protection
  • Expand schemes like Kanyashree (West Bengal) and Nijut Moina (Assam) that reward education and delayed marriage.
  • Introduce conditional cash transfers linked to school attendance and age verification.
• Education & Safety Measures
  • Improve school infrastructure, transport, and security for girls, especially in rural and border districts.
  • Promote secondary education and vocational training as viable alternatives to early marriage.
• Grassroots Empowerment
  • Strengthen Panchayats, CWCs, and child helplines (1098) for community-led detection and prevention.
  • Build trust-based systems so communities report cases early without fear.
• Normative and Behavioural Change
  • Continuous mass communication campaigns, role-model storytelling, and peer engagement can reshape mindsets.
  • Involve religious and community leaders in pledges against child marriage.
• Robust Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Conduct third-party audits and longitudinal surveys to track actual change.
  • Maintain state-level dashboards for real-time monitoring and inter-state comparison.

Conclusion

• India should now aim to reduce child marriage prevalence to below 5% by 2030, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• This achievement could position India as a global model for rights-based social transformation — one where every child’s life path is defined by choice, not compulsion.