Eight-year-old boy prevents child marriage of his friend in Rajasthan's Bundi

Kota: An eight-year-old boy's timely intervention helped prevent the child marriage of his friend from Class 5, scheduled on the night of Akshaya Tritiya, highlighting both the persistence of the social evil and the strength of awareness among children.

"Bhaiya/Didi, please stop my friend's marriage, she is very young, we play together, go to school, she doesn't want to get married, she wants to study," the boy reportedly told Childline 1098 officials.

Acting swiftly on the information, District Childline Coordinator Ramnaryan Gurjar, along with case worker Archana Meena, reached the spot and found that an eight-year-old Class 5 girl was set to be married off.

Child marriages are prohibited under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. However, in Rajasthan, such marriages are solemnised every year during Akshaya Tritiya, locally known as Akha Teej, which is considered one of the most auspicious days for weddings in many rural areas.

Shockingly, another 16-year-old girl was also found in the same place, whose marriage was scheduled for the evening.

With assistance from Dablana SHO Priya Vyas, they rescued both minor girls and produced them before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which subsequently directed that the two girls be taken to the shelter home.

Bundi CWC Chairperson Seema Poddar said, "The boy's intervention is deeply moving, indicating his courage and sense of right and wrong helped stop a grave violation of children's rights." His act also motivated the child rights protection activists, justifying the fruitfulness of the awareness campaign against child marriage, she said.

In Bundi district, child marriages are often reported among the Gurjar, Meena, Meghwal, Mali, Regar, Barwa and Bheel communities, which are often conducted discreetly as part of mass weddings or individual events on Akshaya Tritiya.

In this regard, Bundi district administration has activated a multi-layered monitoring mechanism, particularly in sensitive rural pockets where child marriages have been prevalent for decades, officials said.

A dedicated Child Marriage Control Room has been set up at the district headquarters with a 24-hour helpline (0747-2442305), while grassroots workers, including ASHA workers and Saathin volunteers, have been sensitised to report suspected cases.

Besides, its crackdown on child marriages, on proceeding by Bundi district administration, the judicial magistrate on Sunday issued four prohibitory (injunction) orders in recent cases to prevent such incidents.

In the Bundi Sadar area, two minor girls aged 16 and 17 were being married to youths aged 15 and 21. Prompt action by Tehsildar Arjun Meena led to judicial intervention and halted both marriages. The girls, students of Classes 11 and 12, were rescued in time.

In another case in a different part of Bundi, a Class 10 minor girl was being married to a 28-year-old man. A prohibitory order issued by the judicial magistrate stopped the marriage, with Childline worker Ravi Kumar playing a key role.