Assam crackdown on child marriages awful

The recent arrests of over 3,000 people for their involvement in child marriages in Assam have not only led to a divide in legal opinion but also in civil society. These arrests have led to protests from women decrying the detention of the sole breadwinner of their families. It is being claimed that if any petition is to be led against child marriage, then it must be done so within two years of the person attaining adulthood. The problem is not just legal in Assam. It is a social disorder rather.

Child marriages are rampant in Assam, where the society is a mix of tribal customs and plain customs. Child marriage itself should be prevented and the moot question here is why the authorities did not prevent the same. The fact is that the authorities are fully aware of the problems and it is only when there is a complaint they tend to act. In the current situation, it has acquired a political overtone because of the fact that most of the people being targeted for child marriages happen to be from minority communities, it is said.

The educated civil society of Assam views this is a larger issue wherein the gender lens has not been applied all these years. Economic backwardness and social inequality together impact such practices. The authorities usually complain that any attempt to prevent child marriage also gets politicized in the State and protests break out. What is needed is a long-term focused campaign at every level to prevent child marriages and related child abuse etc.

The current law says that in the event of child marriage, it is the adults who get the punishment as avenger entering their adulthood, such couples won't be acted upon. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) says that marrying children below the age of 14attracts criminality as per the Cabinet decision of Assam.

As the Assam police have been asked to dig out even old cases (which happened before the POCSO Act introduction) there is a political fallout now. The Guwahati High Court too was specific in asking "POCSO you can add anything. What is the POCSO[charge] here? Merely because POCSO is added, does it mean judges will not see what is there? We are not acquitting anyone here. No one is preventing you to probe." Taking up pre-arrest bail petitions, Justice Suman Shyam has said "Is there any allegation of rape here?"

Hearing another case and calling the allegations "weird," he said, "at the moment, this court is of the opinion that these are matters that do not require custodial interrogation... If you nd someone is guilty, le a chargesheet," the court said in another related case. "This is causing havoc in the private life of people. Th ere are children, family members, and old people. Obviously, it (child marriage) is a bad idea.

We will give our views but at the moment the issue is whether they should be all arrested and put in jail," it added. Assam government should ponder over the issue keeping aside its politics.These are all much larger issues that demand sensitive handling. Without educating society first, one should not play around with lives. Child marriage have to be prevent