INDIA’S FIGHT AGAINST CHILD MARRIAGE: FROM REFORMIST VOICES TO BALOD’S ‘CHILD MARRIAGE-FREE’ MILESTONE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to a post by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi about ending child marriage.

- TDG NETWORK

School Students joined the 100 Days CMFI Campaign with Candle Campaign and pledge ceremonies against child marriage. Together, we move towards a safer future for every child.

Modi noted that only a few years earlier, eliminating child marriage seemed like an impossible goal, but India had shown that the practice could be eradicated with "clear policies, sustained action and grassroots efforts". His optimistic tone illustrated the government's faith in its Child Marriage-Free India campaign launched in 2024 and the recent certification of Balod district in Chhattisgarh as the country's first child marriage-free district. Yet the road to this point stretches back two centuries, intertwined with social reformers' battles against orthodoxy, the gradual tightening of law and surveillance, and the persistent cultural and economic factors that fuel child marriage.

This article traces India's progress - from nineteenth-century reformist voices and the activism of Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar to modern campaigns - while critically examining whether labels like "Bal Vivah Mukt" (child marriage-free) represent genuine change or paper over unreported cases. It synthesises data from national surveys, explains legal frameworks and critiques, and highlights on ground stories that reveal both success and lingering challenges.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar were among the earliest Indians to publicly attack child marriage. Roy, a leading figure of the Bengal Renaissance, condemned women's subjugation and insisted that they were not inferior in intellect or morality; he "attacked polygamy, caste rigidity, and child marriage" and demanded women's rights to inheritance and education. He championed the abolition of sati and advocated widow remarriage, providing an ideological foundation for later campaigns against child marriage.