On February 3, Assam’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government launched a crackdown against underage marriage in the state. It led to the sudden arrest of over 3,000 men. The crackdown on underage marriages in the northeastern state has made national headlines, with distraught wives and separated families crying for justice.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has made no secret of the fact that the current crackdown against child marriage has been launched with elections in mind. “Our drive will continue till 2026 when the next assembly elections will be due. We are hopeful that by then, there will be no case of child marriage in the state,” Sarma said.
It is no coincidence that the majority of those arrested are Muslim men from the poorest sections of society, living in some of Assam’s most backward regions. As per media reports, most child marriages were reported in districts where Muslims are either the majority or constitute a large chunk of the population. Incidentally, Muslims comprise around 34 percent of Assam’s population.
Child marriage is illegal in India; the legal age for marriage for girls is 18 and for boys 21. Curbing child marriage is imperative. But the Assam government, with its “zero tolerance” policy toward the practice, is brazenly using it as a tool to incarcerate minorities for political motives.
The Assam government has defended its action by highlighting the most recent findings of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, according to which 31.8 percent of those in the 20–24-year age group in Assam, were married when they were children i.e. before they turned 18. This is higher than the national average of 23.3 percent. Sarma has also cited the high teenage pregnancy rate of 16.8 percent in the state.
Early marriages result in early pregnancies and unsafe childbirths, and are often accompanied by high rates of maternal mortality. Simply put, it is a public health issue. Through long and sustained ground-based advocacy efforts both nationally and in Assam, there has been a declining trend in child marriages over the years. But the Assam government’s sudden decision to crack down on underage marriages on a war footing is likely to undermine these efforts.
On February 5, the government directed that the accused men be booked not just under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act but also under the more stringent law of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. The accused, therefore, will be booked for rape or sexual assault of minors, which is punishable by a 20-year jail term.
This story was originally published in thediplomat.com . Read the full story here