The Bal Vivah Mukti Rath campaign, part of a nationwide 100-day intensive drive against child marriage, has concluded its run across five districts of Assam — Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Baksa, Dibrugarh, and Lakhimpur — marking the end of a wide-reaching community awareness initiative under the Centre's 'Child Marriage Free India' movement.
The campaign was conducted under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, with field implementation led by the Assam Centre for Rural Development, an NGO partner of Just Rights for Children — one of the country's largest child protection networks with over 250 partner organisations.
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In Kamrup district alone, the awareness vehicle covered nearly 1,310 kilometres over 30 days, passing through 61 villages and directly engaging around 5,000 people.
The Rath was flagged off by Co-District Commissioner Rashmi Baruah Gogoi of Palasbari, along with Child Welfare Committee member Aditya Rabha.
To reach areas where the vehicle could not travel, the campaign deployed motorcycle and bicycle caravans to access remote and difficult terrain — ensuring the message of a child marriage-free district reached the last mile.
The campaign was structured across three phases, each targeting a different segment of the community.
In the first phase, schools and students were actively engaged to build awareness among young people. The second phase focused on religious leaders, who were sensitised and urged to verify the age of both bride and groom before solemnising any marriage ceremony — and to refuse to conduct child marriages altogether.
This phase also extended to the broader wedding services ecosystem. Caterers, decorators, banquet hall owners, band players, horse providers, and other vendors associated with wedding ceremonies were warned that providing services for child marriages could expose them to legal action.
The third and final phase moved to the panchayat level, where community members were administered pledges against child marriage and informed about the legal consequences of the practice — including that child marriage is a punishable offence and constitutes child abuse under the law.
Prerna Changkakati, Director of the Assam Centre for Rural Development, described the drive as transformative, noting that the multi-layered approach — combining road outreach, religious engagement, and grassroots community mobilisation — gave the campaign a reach that a single-method drive could not have achieved.