Rising Child Marriage Crisis in Madhya Pradesh: Government Data Shows Alarming Increase Despite Minister's Denial

The minister has distanced herself from her own department's statistical findings.

In 2025, child marriages continue to escalate at a concerning rate in Madhya Pradesh, while the state government appears disconnected from this growing crisis.

Recently, the organization Just Rights for Children, which operates across 41 districts in Madhya Pradesh, disclosed that they prevented 36,838 child marriages and rescued 4,777 children from trafficking within a two-year period.

Despite these intervention efforts, the numbers are not decreasing. Official data presented in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly reveals that instances of child marriage are consistently increasing.

When questioned about these statistics, Women and Child Development Minister Nirmala Bhuria claimed she possessed "no such information," stating, "No such question was raised in the Assembly. I have no such information." She added that she would investigate the source of these figures.

Curiously, it was her own department that submitted the written response containing this data to the Assembly. When opposition members questioned her in the House, she disassociated herself from her department's findings.

NDTV has consistently documented accounts of children whose childhoods were sacrificed in the name of tradition. In Rajgarh, reporters encountered a 12-year-old boy, engaged since infancy, who shyly explained the significance of a bracelet he received as an engagement token. They also met a 10-year-old girl consuming sweets at her engagement ceremony, too embarrassed to speak. These are children too young to comprehend marriage, yet old enough to be ensnared by it. "I didn't want the engagement... I want to study and become a doctor," confessed a fifth-grader, her voice wavering between childhood innocence and resignation.

Throughout rural communities, children adorned with anklets and bangles—not as decorative ornaments but as symbols of bondage—continue bearing the weight of customs that destroy their future. Their appeals to parents are consistently dismissed with the familiar refrain: "This is our custom."

Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh reports a 46 percent child marriage rate, almost twice the national average of 23.3 percent.

The state government's data presented in the Assembly reveals a disturbing trend. Child marriage cases in Madhya Pradesh have been steadily increasing year after year. In 2021, authorities reported 450 cases; this number rose to 519 in 2022, 528 in 2023, and 529 in 2024. Now, with 538 cases already documented in 2025, the upward trend shows no indication of abating.

Former minister and Congress leader Jaivardhan Singh criticized the government's response: "The government claims awareness is growing... but these rising figures prove otherwise. Who will ensure the safety of daughters?"

Madhya Pradesh became the first state in India to implement the death penalty for the rape of minor girls—a groundbreaking decision. Experts now contend that officials must demonstrate the same determination toward eliminating child marriage. They argue that enforcement must be more stringent, accountability more precise, and protection mechanisms substantially stronger, recognizing that each increasing statistic represents a childhood stolen.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 forbids marriages where males are below 21 years of age and females below 18. Such marriages can be voided if either party raises objections within two years of reaching majority (23 years for males and 20 for females). Parents and officiating priests can face legal consequences for forcing minors into marriage.