Child Marriage in India/K.P. Yadav. New Delhi, Adhyayan, 2006,
viii, 304 p., figs., $42. ISBN 81-89161-96-2.
Child Marriage in India/K.P. Yadav. New Delhi, Adhyayan, 2006,
viii, 304 p., figs., $42. ISBN 81-89161-96-2.
Contents: Preface. 1. The marriage. 2. A history of child marriage in India. 3. Child marriage from the 6 century A.D. - 1400 A.D. 4. Dimensions of the problem of child marriage in India: causes and consequences. 5. Sacrificed at the altar of marriage. 6. Child marriage and international human rights. 7. Personal laws, legal reform, and the judiciary. 8. Status of child marriage in India. 9. Effect of child marriage. 10. Prohibited marriage: state protection and child wife. 11. Say no to child marriage. 12. Strategies and future action. Annexures. Index.
"Child-marriage is another 'blessing' of the medieval age and it was born from the same compulsions that; perpetuated sati. Child-marriage was not prevalent in ancient India. Svayam-vara can be translated as self selection of one's husband, svayam = self, vara = husband. Various types of marriages were prevalent in ancient India Gandharva vivaha (love marriage), Asura vivaha (marriage by abduction) etc. But among these bal-vivaha is conspicuous in its absence. Out of the necessity to preserve itself, the hereditary caste system could have helped in nourishing the practice of child-marriage. A child-marriage need not have been as grand an affair as adult marriages.
Hope the present volume will be of immense importance to all those dealing with the subject." (jacket)