Guwahati, Dec 8: Assam has launched an intensive, year-long campaign to eliminate child marriage across 30 high-risk districts, marking one of the most aggressive state-level interventions in India to combat the practice.
While the Centre has set 2030 as the national target to end child marriage, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has pushed for a far earlier deadline, declaring that Assam aims to eradicate the problem by 2026. The state has 35 districts, of which 30 have been designated as priority intervention zones.
The new campaign is part of a nationwide initiative spearheaded by Just Rights for Children (JRC)—a coalition of NGOs and government bodies—aimed at transforming one lakh villages across India into child-marriage-free zones.
Assam has recorded one of the highest child-marriage prevalence rates in the country. According to NFHS-5 (2019–21), 31.8% of women aged 20–24 in the state were married before turning 18, significantly higher than the national average of 23.3%. Dhubri tops the list with over 50%, while districts such as South Salmara-Mankachar, Darrang, Nagaon, Goalpara, Bongaigaon and Barpeta have rates exceeding 40%.
Since the state’s crackdown began in 2023, Assam Police have arrested more than 8,600 people—mostly men—in connection with child marriage cases. According to the Chief Minister, over 3,000 child marriages have been prevented during this period, contributing to an 8.17% decline in “hotspot” districts. Authorities say the problem remains acute particularly in areas dominated by Bengali-speaking Muslims and tribal communities.
Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of JRC, said the new plan will be implemented across state, district and village levels in three phases: awareness drives in educational institutions; mobilisation through religious institutions and marriage-related service providers; and deeper engagement with gram panchayats and municipal wards.
