Recently, India invited the wrath of the international community as well as that of the domestic civil rights bodies when it refused to co-sponsor a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution recognising child, early and forced marriage. Although the resolution was unanimously adopted with India's support, India refused to join over 100 countries in co-sponsoring the resolution. Perhaps, the harsh realization of the magnitude of commitment required to free herself of this diabolical social evil made her adopt such stance.
It is nevertheless ironical as India continues to be the country with the highest number of child brides. While there exists statues to curb the evil (Prohibition of Child Marriages Act), certain sections of the society such as the Khap Panchayats and certain Islamic religious bodies continue to endorse the practice. As law is rendered toothless without social sanction it is important to analyse the sociological perspective behind early marriages. I came across this wonderfully written editorial in Economic & Political Weekly that seeks to analyse the unfortunately widely prevalent nefarious practice in the Indian society and urges the administrators to be more pro-active in curbing it.
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