Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Root Cause of Child Marriage

CHILD MARRIAGE was not ubiquitous in early India. The most prevalent kind of marriage was Swayamvara, where grooms gathered at the bride's residence and the bride had the privilege of choosing her life partner. There were numerous kinds of marriages, customary in antiquated India. Gandharva Vivaha (love marriage), Asura Viviha (marriage by seizure) and many more but among these, Bal-Vivaha was mostly not prominent.There are innumerable evidences, which lead us to the conclusion that this ritual took birth in the medieval ages. The Mughals who came from a different type of tradition primarily ruled India. Their attitude, thinking and way of life were very orthodox in nature with an obsessive obligation to their religion and a heartless approach in its proliferation. They were not only fanatical to all forms of religion other than their own; they also employed condescension for members belonging to other religions.
Women were mostly the sufferers during any war or plunder. During the period of the Delhi Sultans, the most awful victims were Hindu women. These were the insecure times when traditions like child-marriage came into the forefront. This age also witnessed customs like Sati.During these days, raising up young girls was considered as a relentless source of risk. Therefore, parents would always try to find grooms so as to get done with the responsibilities of their daughters by getting them married off before they reached maturity. The caste hierarchy had played a vital role in disseminating this system. Social group, which is based on origin and heredity, does not allow marriages between members of different social groups. But as young blood often gets swayed by passion and emotion, might violate this embargo. Hence, in order to keep this culture intact, child-marriage came into being.

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