Three cases of child marriage have been reported from Rajasthan in the last few days. In a blatant violation of laws, innocent children were forced into marriage by their families. Two marriages took place yesterday, while the third one took place two days ago. One more such marriage of minors was planned but was stopped by the administration.

On December 7, two cases of child marriage came to light in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Both the wedding ceremonies took place at Kodi Shyam temple. All four children were between the age of 10 to 12. Residents of Lasadia village near Gendaliya, the families, brought the children themselves to the temple. After getting them married, they left for the village. Reportedly, neither the Police nor the local administration was aware of the child marriages taking place under their nose.

The third case of child marriage was reported in Asind, Bhilwara. The two innocent children sitting next to the hold fire for the wedding ceremony seemed to have been unaware of what was happening. They were having their own fun in the viral video that has been making rounds on social media platforms.

Another similar video of Asind also surfaced. Where two innocent children were tied in the bond of marriage. Reportedly this video is two days old. The children do not know that they are married. He seems to be having his own fun. Towards the end of the video, the little boy said something to the girl sitting next to him as his bride. The bride got irked and slapped him. He also slapped back, and both laughed. The innocence of the children totally unaware of getting married to each other was clearly visible in the video.

#भीलवाड़ा ज़िले से बाल विवाह का वीडियो सामने आया. जिसमें नन्हे-मुन्ने दुल्हा-दुल्हन एक दूसरे से भगवान के ढोक देते समय झगड़ कर मस्ती कर रहे है.#RajasthanNews #bhilwara pic.twitter.com/9oDEEqLeOo

— सूर्यरेखा (@suryarekha_in) December 8, 2021

Minor girl approached SDM to stop her marriage

In another incident, a 14-year-old minor girl approached SDM to get her proposed wedding ceremony stopped. The girl called on the helpline number to inform the Police about the wedding scheduled for December 11. Kailash Chandra, SHO, Badi Sadri sent a police team to her resident. The family was taken to SDM’s office, where they were asked to sign a bond under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act that they would not marry her off till she attains the permissible age of legal marriage. When SDM Bindu Bala Rajawat met the girl, she asked her if she would feel safe after her family signed the bond. The girl agreed and told SDM she wanted to study further but her family was marrying her off. “I will feel safe if they sign the bond,” she told SDM.

#चित्तौड़गढ़ जिले के बड़ीसादड़ी उपखण्ड के सरथला निवासी कक्षा 9 की छात्रा स्वयं अपना बाल विवाह रुकवाने के लिए प्रशासन के द्वार पहुंची, इस पर प्रशासन द्वारा छात्रा के परिजनों को बुलाया जाकर बाल विवाह नहीं करवाने के लिए पाबंद किया गया।@DmChittorgarh @ChghPolice pic.twitter.com/hjz3o2mEKc

— INDIA NEWS RAJASTHAN (@indianewsraj1) December 7, 2021

In her statement, SDM Rajawat said because the number of girls is less in the region, there is a custom that if a boy wants to get married the family has to marry a girl in return. The custom is commonly known as ‘Aata Saata Pratha’ in Rajasthan. When the girl approached authorities, SDM immediately swung into action and got the wedding cancelled.

प्राप्त जानकारी के अनुसार बड़ीसादड़ी उपखण्ड के सरथला निवासी तथा कक्षा 9 वीं की छात्रा कृष्णा मेनारिया पिता कन्हैया लाल मेनारिया निवासी सरथला ने सोमवार को स्कूल की छुट्टी होने के बाद अपना बाल विवाह रुकवाने के लिए पुलिस थाना बड़ीसादड़ी पहुंची। पुलिस थाने पर पहुंच कर कृष्णा ने pic.twitter.com/K0u4eXlULN

— INDIA NEWS RAJASTHAN (@indianewsraj1) December 7, 2021

She said, “I appreciate that the girl approached us. She is brave and wants to become a doctor. I have counselled the family and told them to let the girl study and become self-sufficient before they marry her off in the future.”

The problem of child marriage in Rajasthan

Rajasthan is on the top across India when it comes to child marriages. As per reports, the cases of child marriages have increased exponentially during Covid times. Despite law against such weddings and the continuous efforts of the central as well as state government, the problem of child marriages still persists in society. 

OpIndia reached out to grass-root Socio-Political BJP leader Vijay Bainsla who is actively working in the rural areas. Bainsla said, “The problem of child marriages is not new in Rajasthan. It has been happening for centuries, and it is not easy to get rid of such customs. The main reason behind a large number of child marriages in Rajasthan is that the state is still backward.”

Further explaining the problem, Bainsla said that the administrative officers and leaders often concentrate on developing the metro, tier-2 met-rural towns in the state. Everyone is least bothered about the rural region. “Pick up the phone and call the leaders and administration. Ask them how many of them have visited rural areas in their constituency in the last few months. Their answer will shock you.”

He said, “Another problem is the lack of financial support. For a wedding, a common rural household spends a minimum of Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh. If there are three children in a house, it would be impossible for the parents to arrange funds for the rest of the two children. Thus, in most of the cases, they marry off all the three children, boy or girl, in a single ceremony.”

While talking about the possible solution, he said, “It is not going to be an easy task, but the governments, both central and state, have to come on the grass-root level and work together to fight such social evils. The lack of education, financial support and believing it is a norm is among the top reasons behind child marriages. Remove these problems, and child marriages would eventually stop in the state.”