The Struggle Against Child Marriage: The Sarda Act (Act XIX) of 1929

Child marriage was a widely prevalent custom in India among all castes across the country. It wasusual to get girls married off before they attained puberty and it was rare to find a girl above the age of 11or 12 unmarried. This custom was criticized by Christian missionaries and commented upon by Britishadministrators and scholars. The Sarda Act also famous as the Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA) wasa pioneering legislation when it was enacted in 1929 with the enormous efforts of Rai Sahib Har BilasSarda. However this was not the first attempt at banishing the evil from the face of humanity. Themovement against early marriage began with the socio religious reform movements of the nineteenthcentury. The first piece of legislation against early marriage was the Civil Marriage Act or Act III of 1872initiated by Keshub Chandra Sen and the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal, which recommended 14 and 18 as theminimum age in which girls and boys can get married.1 But this Act had its own limitations and was notapplicable uniformly to all religions. Later on in the twentieth century, several amendments took place inthis Act, under pressure from the orthodoxy, and its purpose of restricting the marriage age was lost.