Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Aug 24: As per statistics released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Karnataka stands second as far as child marriages are concerned, in South India. Tamil Nadu has bagged the dubious distinction of being at the top of this list.
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are in third, fourth and fifth spots in that order. Out of 280 cases of child marriages registered in the country during the year 2014, about half pertained to South India. These statistical figures clearly point out to the lacunae in implementation of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 and previous laws enacted towards its abolition.
A report prepared by the women and child welfare ministry of the union government has observed that in 43 percent of cases, girls married before reaching the minimum marriageable age of 18. The report noted that child marriage deprives girls of good health, nutrition, education, and such other fundamental rights. Conducting marriage of underage girls exposes them to increased violence, misuse, and exploitation, the report noted.
Last year, Tamil Nadu reported 47 cases of child marriage, while this figure was 44 in Karnataka. This situation has given rise to concern because Tamil Nadu boasts of 80.33 percent literary, and Karnataka 75.60.
Even in West Bengal, where revolutionists like Raja Ram Mohan Roy had fought against this menace over a century ago, 37 cases of child marriages were reported. Gujarat, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh came up with 16, 15, and 14 cases respectively. No one knows how many child marriage cases go unreported.
Pertaining to the above period, only two cases were noticed in New Delhi, while no child marriage cases happened in the north-east, traditionally considered as backward. NCRB statistics also point out that no child marriage cases havebeen registered in Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, and Uttarakhand too.
Interestingly, Karnataka has been placed second with 6,935 cases behind Telangana (8,701), as far as cheating cases are concerned, in South India. At the all India level, Rajasthan, with 21,191 cases, takes the cake. In this category, Bengaluru has been placed third as far as metropolitan cities are concerned.
NCRB statistics also show that cyber crime jumped 69 percent during 2014 as compared to previous year, with Maharashtra topping the list with 1,879 cases. Uttar Pradesh, with 1,737 cases, is in the second spot. Karnataka, where 682 cases were reported, saw a jump of 91.4 percent in such crimes.