After having taken a step forward, the Modi government at the Centre is obviously having a pause when it comes to the cabinet decision to raise the marriageable age of girls from 18 to 21. Several opposition parties, including the Congress, have expressed their disaffection against the government move and activists too have opposed this. As a result, the decision has become controversial even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hinted about such a plan in one of his Independence Day addresses. So, what is intended as an amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 might not be introduced in the current session of Parliament, which is closing soon.
The issue has two sides. One, raising the marriage age grants girls more space for education and eventual employment. The question of maturity, again, is a contentious issue. Conventional wisdom has it that girls gain mental and physical maturity a bit earlier than boys do. That’s in the nature of things. Hence the keeping of marriage age for girls at three years below that of men – 18 against 21. Also, if girls or boys attain maturity, legally delaying their marriage is unjustified. Life, anyway, is short in our conservative societies. The other side of the story is the communal angle. Muslims tend to marry off their children at an early age and procreation follows. They are generally reticent about family planning norms or limiting the number of children. Population bulge is a serious problem that India is faced with and licentiousness in this respect will make matters worse for the nation. The family planning campaign is facing odds because of the tendency among sections of the population to produce more children than the norm of two to a family.
The Uttar Pradesh Government led by Yogi Adityanath has shown the courage to introduce certain controls over couples having more than two children in future. There have been proposals to deny such families ration and the chance to contest polls etc., by way of a deterrent. The Modi government at the Centre apparently wants to exercise caution or go on a merry-go-round. Perceptions are that it is aiming to control population growth by raising the marriage age for girls. Muslim organisations have raised serious objections. However, unexpected support for the move came from veteran Congressman P Chidambaram with a rider that it be implemented a year or two later, after a period of awareness drive among the population. A national consensus beyond political considerations on this matter might do the country a lot of good.
