India’s highest number of child girl marriages recorded in Jharkhand

According to the latest demographic sample survey by the union home ministry, Jharkhand has recorded highest percentage of underaged girls getting married.According to the survey brought out by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, the percentage of girls getting married before attaining majority is as high as 5.8 in Jharkhand.The survey said, “The percentage of females who got effectively married before reaching 18 years of age is 1.9 at the national level and varies from 0.0 in Kerala to 5.8 in Jharkhand.”The Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report contains estimates of various demographic, fertility and mortality indicators based on the data collected through one of the largest demographic surveys in the world covering about 8.4 million sample population.According to the report, Jharkhand and West Bengal are the only two states in the country where more than half of the women are married before attaining the age of 21 years.The survey said that the national average of 29.5 per cent while 54.9 per cent of girls are married in West Bengal before attaining the age of 21 years, and the figure for Jharkhand is 54.6 per cent.