Kolkata, 5 December (H.S.)

To further the goal of making India child marriage-free by 2030, Just Rights for Children has launched a massive campaign to declare one lakh villages across the country child marriage-free within the next one year. Twenty-three districts in West Bengal, identified as high-impact districts based on the National Family Health Survey-V (2019–21), have been included for special monitoring and action. This announcement was made on the first anniversary of the Central Government's Child Marriage Free India campaign, launched as part of the 100-day action plan.

JRC leads the largest network of over 250 NGOs nationwide and works in collaboration with 14 partner organizations in West Bengal. Over the past year, this network has prevented 11,938 child marriages in the state. The network has also successfully prevented over one lakh child marriages nationwide in the past year.

According to the National Family Health Survey-V, the child marriage rate in West Bengal is 41.6 percent, significantly higher than the national average of 23.3 percent. Eleven of the top 60 districts with the highest rates of child marriage are located in West Bengal. Districts like Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Murshidabad, and Purba Bardhaman recorded rates above 50 percent. Seven districts had rates between 40–40.9 percent and six districts had rates between 30–39.9 percent.

Sharing the campaign's roadmap, JRC founder Bhuvan Rivu said that the role of community, religious leaders, panchayats, and ordinary citizens is crucial to the campaign's success. He emphasized that the large-scale prevention of child marriages last year is proof that change is possible through collective efforts. He also reiterated his commitment to making one lakh villages child marriage-free in the next one year.

The organization operates nationwide based on the 3P model—protection, prevention, and justice. Between April 1, 2023, and November 14, 2025, JRC claims to have prevented 435,205 child marriages. Legal interventions and awareness campaigns have significantly changed society's perception of child marriage.

On the first anniversary of the Child Marriage Free India campaign, furthering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Developed India, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a 100-day intensive action plan, which will conclude on March 8, 2026—International Women's Day. Awareness programs under this plan will be implemented in three phases, encompassing schools, colleges, religious places, marriage-related services, gram panchayats, and urban wards.

The Government of West Bengal has requested all its employees and officers of Health, Rural Development, Panchayat, School Education, Higher Education and related departments to actively participate in this campaign to ensure concrete progress towards making the state child marriage free.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey