New Delhi: As many as 2,358 cases of child marriages were recorded in the country over the last three years with 523 in 2019, 785 in 2020, and 1,050 in 2021, the government informed in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The data was shared by Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Empowerment via a written reply while replying to a question from Kerala's MP from Kerala Congress (M) Jose K. Mani asking whether Government has the details of the number of child marriages that occurred in the country over the last three year and its state/UT wise data.
She gave out a statistical analysis of such cases that occurred in the country in the past three years. According to the NCRB data, Karnataka topped the list with 568 such cases reported in the last three years with 273 in 2021, 184 in 2020, and 111 in 2019, followed by 408 in Assam with 155 in 2021, 138 in 2020 and 115 in 2019, 292 in Tamil Nadu with 169 in 2021, 77 in 2020, 46 in 2019, and 271 in West Bengal with 105 in 2021, 98 in 2020 and 68 in 2019.
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As per the data, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Arunachal Pradesh recorded zero cases of child marriage. To a question on whether the Government noticed an increase in the incidence of child marriages during the last three years, the Union Minister pointed out that "Higher reporting of cases does not necessarily reflect an increase in the number of cases of child marriages, but it may be because of increased awareness among citizens to report such incidents due to initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Women Helpline (181) and Childline (1098) implemented by the Ministry and better enforcement of law by States/ UT."
