International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438 Volume 4 Issue 4, April 2015 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Child Marriage in India: Factors and Problems B. Suresh Lal Department of Economics, Kakatiya University, Warangal-506009, TS, India Abstract: Marriage is one of the important social institutions and it is a means of establishing a family through which the society perpetuates. This social process is expressed in the form of rituals and symbols. In India 45 percent of girls are wedded below 18 year. The Niger is top country (74.5%) in the world for child marriage below 18 years of the age, followed by Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea and Central African Republic, their percentages are 71.5, 70.6, 66.62, 63.1 and 57 respectively. Majority of girls who were married below 18 year are from poor and below poverty line (BPL) families. Nearly 80 percent girls are facing the domestic violence (beaten, slapped or threatened), health problems. Most of the girls who are married before 18 year are likely to get pregnancy problems and there were death case reported. Girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s. The age group below 18 year has high fertility. Child brides often show signs symptomatic of sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress such as feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and severe depression. Keywords: Poverty, domestic violence, health problems, ignorance and depression. 1. Introduction Child Marriage is one of the burning problems of Indian society. In India, despite amended laws advocating 18 as the legal minimum age at marriage for females, a substantial proportion i.e. every third adolescent girl in the age group of 15-19 year is married and every second married adolescent girl has given birth to a child. According to the Registrar General of India (RGI) Report (2001) Rajasthan has the highest (40.8) percentage of females ever married among15-19 year old girls as compared to India (24.9 %) followed by Bihar (39.6 %), Madhya Pradesh (34.1%), Jharkhand (32.9%) and Andhra Pradesh (32.3%). Among the various districts of Rajasthan, Bhilwara is at the top with 61.9 percent. Child marriage in India has been practiced for centuries, with children married off before their physical and mental maturity. The problem of child marriage in India remains rooted in a complex matrix of religious traditions, social practices, economic factors and deeply rooted prejudices. Regardless of its roots, child marriage constitutes a gross violation of human rights, leaving physical, psychological and emotional scars for life. Sexual activity starts soon after marriage, and pregnancy and childbirth at an early age can lead to maternal as well as infant mortality. Moreover, women who marry younger are more likely to experience domestic violence within the home. 2. Objectives & Methods To study the socio-economic conditions of the child family, to identify the factors influence the child marriages and to examine the implications of the child marriage. To analyze constitutional and legal measures against child marriage and their implementation. The present study analyzed based on the primary and secondary data, covering various issues like poverty, domestic violence, poor understanding, their health problems, level of management and their living standard of the wedded girl children. 3. Indian & World Scenario In the medieval ages, law and order was not yet a universal phenomenon and arbitrary powers were concentrated in the hands of a hierarchy led by a despotic monarch. In India the Sultans of Delhi who held the place of the despotic monarch, came from a different type of culture. Orthodox in their beliefs with a fanatical commitment to their religion there was a ruthless method in its propagation. Intolerant as they were to all forms of worship other than their own, they also exercised contempt for members of other faiths. As usual, women were the victims during any war, arson, plunder, etc. During the reign of the Delhi Sultans, these were the order of the day and the worst sufferers were Hindu women. During these dark days were spawned customs like child-marriage and selection of women from the rest of the society, wearing of the Ghungat (veil). This age also perpetuated customs like Sati and looking upon the birth of a female baby as an ill omen, even killing newly born baby girls by drowning them in a tub of milk. Amidst the feeling of insecurity, the presence of young unmarried girls was a potential invitation for disaster. The predatory Sarasenic feudal lords and princes of Sarasenic origins who stalked all over India in the middle ages were a source of constant threat. A girl at home was an invitation for disaster. As such, parents would seek to get over with the responsibilities of their daughters by getting the custom of child marriages with the „bride‟ and „groom‟ still in their cradles was a culmination of this tendency. This way the danger to a growing girl‟s modesty was somewhat reduced. Along with this principal reason, there were a few other reasons arising from the nature of the feudal society which were conducive for the prevalence of this practice. In a feudal society, qualities like rivalry, personal honour, hereditary friendship or enmity are rated very highly. Because of this, military alliances play a very important role in preserving or destroying the balance of power between the various kingdoms and fiefdoms. To ensure that the military alliances entered into were observed by Paper ID: SUB1536991 2993