Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has welcomed the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to designate November 27 as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early, and Forced Marriage, describing it as global recognition of an issue that Assam has been pursuing through sustained enforcement and social measures.
The move is a big global endorsement for the Just Rights for Children campaign and NDTV’s campaign against child marriages. NDTV and Just Rights for Children have been running the Child Marriage Free India campaign since 2023. 12,196 child marriage cases were registered over the past five years, with more than 11,000 arrests, according to figures cited by the Assam government. Sarma has also announced a fresh 30-day statewide enforcement campaign.
NDTV has followed the issue extensively, reporting on Assam’s major enforcement drives, arrests, the reported decline in child marriages, and the government’s education-focused initiatives. Cases involving minors have also attracted provisions of the POCSO Act, depending on the circumstances. Assam has subsequently combined enforcement with measures aimed at keeping girls in education. One such initiative is the Mukhya Mantri Nijut Moina scheme, which provides financial support to girl students pursuing higher secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate education. The government has described the scheme as part of its effort to discourage early marriage and encourage girls to continue their studies.
The Assam campaign intensified in 2023, when Assam Police launched large-scale action under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. With the UN now giving November 27 an international observance, Assam’s campaign has gained a new global context, linking the state’s enforcement drive with a wider international push to protect children from early and forced marriage.
