As Akshaya Tritiya approaches, once again there is a familiar sense of anticipation in many parts of the country. Traditionally seen as an auspicious day for weddings, the festival has, for years, carried a darker undercurrent in states like Rajasthan, where it has often been associated with a surge in child marriages.
But something changed in the last few years.
In the days leading up to Akshaya Tritiya 2024, the Rajasthan High Court delivered a decisive order that altered the course of how the state responds to child marriage. Acting on a petition by the Just Rights for Children (JRC), the Court held village heads, Sarpanches, and Panchayat members directly accountable for any child marriages conducted within their jurisdictions.
It was a simple but powerful shift. Responsibility was no longer abstract, it was local, visible, and personal.
The impact was immediate and telling. Unlike previous years, there were no reported cases of child marriage during the Akshaya Tritiya period in 2024 and even the year later. For a state that has long struggled with a child marriage rate of over 25 percent, this was not just a statistic. It was a signal that change, when backed by intent and accountability, is possible.
Now, as Akshaya Tritiya returns this year, so does the test.
There is no illusion that the threat has disappeared. If anything, the risk has only gone underground, with concerns that ceremonies may be conducted discreetly to avoid scrutiny. But this time, the response is different. The administration is alert. Law enforcement is prepared. And perhaps most importantly, communities are no longer entirely silent.
Over the past year, Rajasthan has moved beyond one decisive court order to build a more layered response. A lot has changed since then. More and more children have been rescued from the brink of child marriage. People have participated with striking enthusiasm in the Bal Vivah Mukti Rath campaign, where the message on wheels travelled to some of the farthest districts and villages, carrying conversations that were long overdue.
NGO partners of Just Rights of Children network in Rajasthan, along with local administration and village heads, ensured that this vehicle not only reached the last village but also the most vulnerable communities in the state. Significantly, being the largest network in the country has enabled this momentum to not only sustain but also spread across India.
And yet, a lot continues to remain the same.
It is this sameness that now needs to be shaken, dismantled, and rebuilt. Because what Rajasthan is witnessing today is not just incremental progress, it is history in the making. With each passing year, the state is stepping up its efforts to end child marriage, slowly reclaiming the true meaning of Akshaya Tritiya as a day of promise, not one shadowed by silent violations.
At the state level, Rajasthan has also introduced a particularly striking intervention last year. Printing presses were directed to require age proof of both the bride and groom before issuing wedding invitations, with their dates of birth printed on the cards. It is a small administrative step on paper, but one that quietly shifts the burden of concealment. A wedding invitation, once a private announcement, now becomes a document open to scrutiny.
At the same time, efforts on the ground have continued to deepen. Civil society organisations have been steadily building awareness in villages and small towns. Messages against child marriage are being carried into temples, mosques, schools, and community spaces. Children themselves are increasingly aware, and in some cases, willing to speak up.
This year, the state’s Education Department has also pushed for a coordinated response, activating district and block-level groups that bring together women’s collectives, health workers, and local volunteers. Even those indirectly linked to weddings, priests, band players, tent house owners, transporters, are being asked to take a clear stand.
Because the truth is, child marriage does not happen in isolation. It is enabled by silence, by participation, and by the quiet normalization of what should never be acceptable.
Rajasthan’s approach over the past year shows that change does not come from a single intervention. It comes from pressure applied at every level, legal, administrative, and social. It comes from making accountability unavoidable and complicity uncomfortable.
And yet, this is not a moment for complacency.
Akshaya Tritiya still carries risk. The coming days will determine whether last year’s progress was an exception or the beginning of a sustained shift. The real measure of success will not just be in preventing visible ceremonies, but in ensuring that the practice itself continues to lose legitimacy.
For now, Rajasthan offers something that was missing for a long time, a working model of intent backed by action.
As the country moves toward its larger goal of ending child marriage, this moment matters. Not because the battle is over, but because it finally feels like it is being fought differently.
Author: Nanulal Prajapati, Deputy Director, Rajasthan Mahila Kalyan Mandal, Ajmer
