Guwahati: Assam has arrested 565 people and registered 481 cases in its latest crackdown on child marriage, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday, vowing that the drive would continue until the practice is eradicated.“Child marriage offenders can keep saying NOOO, but the crackdown will NOT stop,” Sarma said in a social media post. The government has also announced a larger campaign for November.Sarma has linked the drive to a new UN observance. The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on September 4, setting November 27 as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage. India co-sponsored the resolution, which was led by Sierra Leone.In a post on X the next day, Sarma said the UN “now agrees” with what Assam has been saying, and that the declaration showed Assam’s efforts “were never in isolation.” He said the state had already announced that it would run an “unapologetic” campaign in November.Sarma said the government’s efforts over the past few years had led to over 12,000 cases and more than 11,000 arrests. He claimed an 81 per cent drop in child marriages across 20 districts, besides fewer teenage pregnancies and higher female enrolment in higher education.The tally has been climbing. An earlier update two days back from Sarma put it at 524 arrests and 441 cases, and Dhubri police detained 63 people from areas under nine police stations.The state’s first big crackdown began in February 2023, when 3,047 people were arrested within two weeks. Sarma had announced that Assam would be free of child marriage by 2026, a target that has two months left.
