After over 8,600 arrests, Assam launch drive to end child marriage in 30 districts in one year

Guwahati: After arrests of more than 8,600 people, mostly men, since 2023 for child marriages, Assam has now launched a drive to free 30 high risk districts from the problem in one year.

The drive is part of the nationwide effort led by Just Rights for Children (JRC), a network of NGOs and government agencies, which aims to transform one lakh villages across India into child-marriage-free zones.

The Centre has set a target to end child marriage by 2030 but Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said his government seeks to eliminate the problem by 2026. Assam has 35 districts.

"The plan will be executed at state, district and village levels in three phases: awareness in educational institutions, mobilisation through religious places and marriage-related service providers, and enhanced engagement with gram panchayats and municipal wards," said Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of JRC, a coalition of 250 NGOs, including eight in Assam.

High prevalence rate:

The JRC said Assam continues to report one of the highest child-marriage prevalence rates in the country. According to NFHS-5 (2019–21), 31.8 per cent of women aged 20–24 in the state were married before 18, compared to the national average of 23.3 per cent. Dhubri district leads with over 50 per cent, while South Salmara-Mankachar, Darrang, Nagaon, Goalpara, Bongaigaon and Barpeta exceed 40 per cent. Eight districts fall between 30–39.9 per cent, and ten more between 23–29.9.

Crackdown:

Chief Minister Sarma, in a social media post recently, said child marriage decreased by 8.17 per cent in "hotspot" districts since a crackdown was carried out in 2023 and 2024. He said more than 8,600 people were arrested during the drive and over 3,000 child marriages have been prevented since then. Child marriages are serious in areas dominated by Bengali-speaking Muslims and tribals.