Dibrugarh: With the Government of India expressing an unprecedented commitment to make the country child marriage free by 2030, the entire district of Dibrugarh marked the first anniversary of Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat with great enthusiasm.
Assam Centre for Rural Development, which has been working extensively in the district to end child marriage, pledged to work closely with all departments and agencies to ensure that the government’s ‘100 Days Intensive Awareness Campaign’ becomes a resounding success in the district.
Launched in New Delhi to mark the first year anniversary of ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi, the 100 days plan is a targeted strategy to impact the entire ecosystem that lets the crime of child marriage thrive.
With the country at the helm of ending child marriage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also remarked recently that India, with its clear policies, sustained action and consistent efforts at the grassroots level, is well on its path to eliminating child marriage.
The Government of India has issued notifications to all the state governments to join the 100-day campaign so that it results in complete saturation and visible community-level change towards Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat.
Responding to the notification, the Assam government has asked all the field functionaries and officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Panchayat Raj, Ministry of Rural Development, Department of School Education and Literacy and Department of Higher Education to actively participate and make this campaign impactful.
Hailing the state government and district administration for their consistent action and initiatives to end child marriage in the district, Prena Changkakati, Executive Director of Assam Centre for Rural Development, said, “The administration in our district has been proactively fighting the issue of child marriage. Working in close coordination with them, we have come this far.
“And today, as the entire nation stands united and the highest leadership guides us toward a child marriage free India, there is no reason we cannot end this crime even before 2030. What the world once believed was impossible is now becoming India’s reality, and we are proud to contribute to this historic moment.”
Assam Centre for Rural Development is a partner of Just Rights for Children, which is one of India’s largest networks with over 250 NGO partners working for child protection in the country. With the coordinated efforts of its NGO partners, the network prevented over one lakh child marriages across the country in the last one year.
The ‘100 Days Intensive Awareness Campaign’ has outlined a targeted strategy focusing on schools and educational institutions, religious places where marriages are solemnised, marriage-related service providers and finally panchayats and municipal wards to ensure an end to this centuries-old crime against children.
The campaign concludes on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2026. To be followed at state, district and village levels, the plan is divided into three phases. During the first phase, the focus would be on awareness generation through schools, colleges and educational institutes.
Religious places and marriage-related service providers including temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras, wedding halls and band parties would be in focus in the second spell, and gram panchayats and municipal wards to strengthen community-level engagement and ownership would be part of the third phase.
A detailed letter has already been issued to district administrations regarding the same.
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