In December 2025, the Ministry of Women and Child Development celebrated the first anniversary of the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Mission with a 100-day awareness campaign to push for a ‘Bharat without child marriage’. According to the ministry 38,000 Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) have been linked to a central portal to put a stop to this practice. In addition, around 40,000,000 online donations were collected and the campaign reached over 11.81 million people. The aim was to make child marriages “almost non-existent”.
In Madhya Pradesh, child marriage cases increased from 366 in 2020 to 538 in 2025, with about two child marriages taking place per day. In Maharashtra, authorities prevented 13 child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya alone.
But in Madhya Pradesh, child marriage cases rose from 366 in 2020 to 538 in 2025, with about two child marriages take place per day. In Maharashtra, authorities prevented 13 child marriages Alone on Akshaya Tritiya, a day considered “auspicious” for weddings, in districts like Ahilyanagar, Yavatmal and others. In April 2026, Frontline featured a woman named Khushbu from Rajasthan, who in her 20s filed an application under the Child Marriage Prohibition Act 2006 to annul her marriage that was forced upon her at the age of 12.
Image source: Saumya Khandelwal/via National Geographic
Given these realities, can we simply “mortgage” child marriage without supporting girls locally?
The stubborn grip of practice
The Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign adopted a three-pronged approach. First, gram panchayats and municipal districts were asked to pass resolutions on “freedom from child marriage”; second, religious leaders and marriage service providers were hired; Thirdly, schools and colleges were mobilized for awareness campaigns. The campaign therefore relied heavily on centralized platforms for measurable indicators.
But the field shows how fragile the situation actually is. The documented rise in child marriage cases in Madhya Pradesh, even in districts where officials say they are on high alert around festivals like the Akshaya Tritiya, shows how deeply rooted the practice is in the state. In Nanded district of Maharashtra, authorities say this is the case prevented 11 child marriages since April 19, 2026 using 1098 Childline helpline and special monitoring committees during Akshaya Tritiya. These efforts show that the “spikes” in child marriages are predictable and recurring.
Official slogans like “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the girl child, educate the girl child)” coexist uneasily with the reality of child marriages in many regions where Akshaya Tritiya or Dev Uthani Ekadashi are seen as ideal “auspicious” dates for mass weddings, including for minors.
Official slogans like “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the girl child, educate the girl child)” coexist uneasily with the reality of child marriages in many regions where Akshaya Tritiya or Dev Uthani Ekadashi are seen as ideal “auspicious” dates for mass weddings, including for minors.
Image source: Reuters
In parts of Maharashtra and Rajasthan, Akshaya Tritiya has become a de facto mass wedding festival, with dozens of families considering the day as a wedding window just once a year. In Madhya Pradesh And HaryanaPolice and Women and Child Development (WCD) officials now monitor “planned” weddings on Dev Uthani Ekadashi and only act if child marriage is suspected, meaning the law is being treated as a last-minute safety net.
The “rational” decision to marry early
The Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign focuses on pledges and public commitments but does not address the economic logic behind child marriages carried out at these mass wedding events. The idea that mass weddings save money on dowries and logistics is prevalent and, combined with social pressure, ensures that daughters’ futures are sacrificed through a ritualized “investment.”
The idea that mass weddings save money on dowries and logistics is prevalent and, combined with social pressure, ensures that daughters’ futures are sacrificed through a ritualized “investment.”
Data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) shows that the proportion of women aged 20 to 24 who were married before the age of 18 fell from 47.4 percent in 2005 to 2006 23.3 percent in 2019-21. However, between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the decline was only about 3.5 percentage points as the practice of child marriage became entrenched in certain regions. States like West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura still report child marriage rates higher than the national average, and according to one UNICEF reportIn Bihar and West Bengal, over 40 percent of young women were married before the age of 18.
Poverty and caste class dynamics also play a role here. NFHS-5 data roughly shows this 40 percent of girls in the poorest wealth quintile were married before the age of 18, compared to only about 8 percent in the wealthiest quintile. This happens mainly because for many low-income families, early marriage becomes a “rational” decision, transferring the responsibility of raising a girl to another family, reducing dowry pressure, and “securing” a girl’s future before she is viewed as “spoiled” or “too independent.”
A little groom and a little bride the day after their wedding on “Akka Teej” in Rajasthan (representative image).
Photo credit: Sandeep Saxena/Frontline
At the same time, girls’ education is often viewed as a financial burden. The Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Campaign, in its above press release, hails the increase in school enrollment, INR 1,827 million in scholarships for girls and the fact that women now make up about 43 percent of the STEM workforce in India; However, these statistics do little to change the reality of life for girls in many rural and semi-rural communities.
The hidden rise of child marriage
The Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign barely takes into account everyday feminist practices on the ground. Change is not just about promise-driven awareness, but also about creating spaces where girls can build friendships and future prospects that make early marriage feel like a loss and ultimately discourage it.
Change is not just about promise-driven awareness, but also about creating spaces where girls can build friendships and future prospects that make early marriage feel like a loss and ultimately discourage it.
The BBC reporting of girls’ football programs in Rajasthan provides one such example. In the case of two sisters, one of whom is fourteen years old, the mother initially agreed to a marriage proposal but later declined after seeing how training provided by NGOs such as Football for Freedom increased the girls’ self-confidence and social status. The girls’ daily practices in the field helped them maintain the social capital they needed to make it difficult for the family to treat them as passive property.
Khushbu’s story, reported by Frontline, helps highlight the long-term costs of child marriage. She describes herself as being “sold” like property, with no say in her own future. Her case shows that the stigma and emotional labor that comes with regaining one’s life is rarely acknowledged or included in government interventions to prevent child marriage, which often prefer to just talk about prevention.
Photo credit: Prakash Hatvalne/AP
The current aim of the Child Vivah Mukt Bharat campaign is reduction Child marriage fall to less than 5 percent by 2029. According to a report According to Just Rights for Children, child marriage has fallen by 69 percent for girls and 72 percent for boys in recent years. However, as long as the campaign does not address patriarchy and its impact on who controls land, dowries, education budgets and migration decisions for girls, it may stop the odd wedding on Akshaya Tritiya, but normalizing early and child marriages locally will not destroy it.
Sohini (she/her) hails from Kolkata and loves to research and write about everything related to society, culture and gender. With a background in journalism and English literature, they have finally managed to make heartfelt conversations a big part of their lives outside of the usual boxes.