Tuesday, 16 January 2018

The importance of Age of Consent Act and child marriage




For the nineteenth century reformists, child marriage was a problem that kept them going through the entire century. Almost all reformers have pondered on this question. Akshyakumar D, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Gopalaharri Deshmukh, VM Malawari, Ramkrishna Paramhans and his disciple Vivekananda; Everyone tried to find the diagnosis of this problem in their own way. The first attempt to block child marriage was made by the colonial government in 1829, when the sentence of death was announced while declaring sexual intercourse with girls of lower age. In 1846, the Law Commission had recommended that sexual relations should be prohibited with the wife of less than 10 years of age. This recommendation was accepted by the Government in 1860 AD under section 366 of the Indian Penal Code that sexual relations with the wife under the age of 10 years would be considered as a criminal offense.
After the formation of a law to determine the age of consent for marriage in 1860 AD, no strong movement against child marriage can be raised till the issue was raised by Baharamji Malawi in the nineteenth century. Supporters of child marriage argued that due to child marriage, the spiritual and physical decline of India is happening or that child marriage is only responsible for the weakness of Indian origin. He believed that marriage at a young age causes loss of the physical power of the nation. Due to this, the progress and development of the nation is bound only, it also affects the courage and energy of the people. Marriage at an early age makes the whole generation weak and sick. Gopalaharri Deshmukh said that as far as child marriage is concerned, which I consider to be quite dangerous, It is a practice that weakens the whole nation. Due to marriage in a raw age, the reproductive organs of women do not develop properly, they have to face more difficult conditions during childbirth, sometimes due to excessive pain, their death ends.The children of the mothers of the minor have died before prematurely due to their head being suppressed, or they become weak from the brain and spend the rest of their lives as idiots.
Brahmasamajis showed great interest in anti-child movement. While opposing child marriage, Akshay Kumar Drona did not care for the past in the context of his talk or religious acceptance. The arguments he presented were mainly based on the fact that these things are affecting or affecting the society. Rather than referring to the arrangements given in the scriptures, they put forward the conclusions of medical science about the loss of child marriage. They presented very modern ideas about marriage and family. According to him, before marriage, boy and girl can be allowed to meet with each other, the basis of marital life is to equate the husband and wife and divide and divorces are both legal and traditional.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar had written his first essay 'Child Viveh Defect' on child marriage in 1850 AD. In it, only the scriptures of the scriptures are kept in sequence. In this essay, there has been a strong comment on the scary and different forms of child marriage, caste fraternity fixed marriage, marital harassment, hatred towards educated women and social inhibition and self-restrained widows. He considered the prevailing marriage ceremony in Bengal as a contradiction to romance.According to them, ideal marriage can be based on the adult brain and body insertion. In order to ban child marriage, the Native Marriage Act was passed in 1872, it was a very revolutionary step. It was said that there was a ban on polygamy, recognition of divorce or divorce and the age of marriage increased. This act was applicable only to the Brahmas, in the limits of its justice, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists did not come. It rejected the boundaries of caste and religion for marriage, and married the age of 10 to 12 years. 23 After the passage of this Act, after the death of prevalent child marriage and husband in Hindu religion, The debate was going on in India.In this debate, Baharamji was inspired by Malawari's article 'Notes on Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood', which advocated bringing an amendment bill to increase the age of women's coitus. In 24th 1887, this debate got more air when An educated Marathi girl, Rukmabai, who was related to a carpenter caste, refused to go with her tuberculously afflicted husband, Grandpa. 25
Describing the question of child marriage as an economic theme, Malik Malik, BMM had appealed to the government to address the matter.According to him, due to child marriage, there is continuous growth in the population, which is churning up internal resources while reducing the economic climate rate. Thereby boosting poverty.Linking the child marriage to economic downturn, MG Ranade had urged to stop the practice immediately. He believed that child marriage can lead to weak breed and species of children, which constantly leads to loss of human resources. By getting married in a minor, girls become a mother at a young age, mother and child health decline.The focus of youth is to shift from education to livelihood, eventually it becomes difficult for a large part of the country's population to make roti,By which they become a victim of hunger. He appealed to the government that Indian is unable to help itself because of the sanctions imposed in the past, so the government must intervene. In pursuing the species concept, Dr. Kirtikar, President of Pather Prabhu Improvement Committee, said in many lectures given that Indian women should be the sole right of education because they are the mother of Indian species, so that they must be aware of health and well-being. The birth of healthy and strong children can be encouraged.
In 1890, the phenomenon of floriculture worked as a catalyst for supporters of age of marriage. Her 11 year old Bengali girl Phulmani, along with her husband, Harimite, whose age was 35 years, forced her into sexual intercourse and killed her.According to the then law, Phoolamani had completed the age of 10 years, which was the age of coitus, therefore, Harimati was not accused of rape. This incident gave special force to the campaign to increase the age of BMM Malawi, how meaningful he was to enhance his age from 10 years to 12 years. All these incidents forced the British government to constitute a committee to increase the age of girls. In this committee, influential British citizens and Anglo-Indian persons were included who recommended increasing the age of sex with women.
With this, the age limit for marriage with married and unmarried girls was increased from 10 years to 12 years. The legislation in the 1860's penal procedure was that no man could have a physical relationship with a woman after the age of 10.Prior to this, there will be a crime in the category of rape, and that person will be a part of the sentence. On January 9, 1891, the Age of Consent Bill was presented by the Indian Governor General in the legislative assembly in Andheri Scolwell in Calcutta, and debate on this bill started on this day. Ramesh Chandra Mitra took part in this debate and strongly opposed it on the basis of interference in Hindu tradition, while another member of the legislative assembly received the bill from the Bahadur Krishnaji Laxman Nalkar of Bombay and the President of the Women's Social Institute. In these debates, Tilak and other Hindu fundamentalists opposed it. The bill was received by the President. In these debates, Tilak and other Hindu fundamentalists opposed it. The bill was received by the President. In these debates, Tilak and other Hindu fundamentalists opposed it.
Buddhists from Maharashtra and Bengal strongly protested this bill. According to Hindu fundamentalists and traditions, this act was meant to boast of powerful Hindu people. In Maharashtra, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the leader of the opposition, was receiving Tilak, who was getting a lot of support from the Resurrection through the Public Assembly. 27 These people were talking about the pride of the Hindu Brahmin and Maharashtra and the masses Were provoked forTilak opposed the act on the basis that it is an internal matter of Hindus, not the case of the British, it should solve the Hindus only. 'They have no right to interfere in our religion, tradition and customs.' This act was also strongly opposed in Bengal and played an important role in expanding the Indian National Movement.
Age of Consent Bill received unprecedented support from Maharashtra feminists. The first Memorial Festival was organized by the women of Bombay in 1890, in which the British feminists were also a major participant. At this time a committee of women was working in support of this bill, which included influential women from Britain and Maharashtra. Among British members, Lady Ray, Dr. Peacay Fypson and Indian members were Dr. Rukmabai, Pandita Ramabai, Ramabai Ranade and Rukmabai Modak. London's feminist organization 'Millissant Fawcett Indian National Association' was constantly pressurizing the government to take a decision in favor of passing the bill.
The first memorabilia signed by Indian women was presented on December 30, 1890. But when the first memorandum was not found, women such as Rukmabai Mandok and Rabilibai Sukthankar thought that it was not considered by the British authorities because of having kept the age of cohabitation for 14 years. So when the second memorandum was sent, the minimum age of sex was reduced to 12 years. A similar memorandum was also sent by the Arya Women's Committee, which had 88 signatures of 65 Hindus. The Parsi and Anglo-Indian women of Pune had a separate petition on this matter to the British government.On February 23, 1891, a CPI signed with 128 Parsi and 83 Native Christian women was handed over to the Governor General. The contents of these petitions were different. Where the first memorandum was highlighted in the inconsistencies and shortcomings of the Code of Practices In the second petition, those problems were raised, which were related to the female caste. In the second petition submitted by the Arya Women's Society, 514 petitioners had appealed to the male reformers against the bill to stop opting for this bill and to cooperate in its passage. This petition was given to KLL Nalkar, secretary of the Arya Women's Society, Ghavali Bai Sukthankar, whose title was 'Memorial of 514 Native'. Thus, the kind of reasoning, demonstrations and meetings held by women in favor of this bill was clearly proven that it has become a sexual issue rather than a nationalist or a religious issue. Second reading on Age of Consent Bill began in March 1891 and on March 19, 1891, it was enacted in British India, with the signing of Governor General Lansdowne. This law is called the Age of Consent Law Act-10, Known as the 1891. According to the Act, the age of sex with the girl was increased from 10 to 12 years. It was the law applicable to all unmarried and married girls. The legislation was enacted in the category of rape, sexual practices with girls under this age group. This law was made by amending the Indian Penal Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 375 of Indian Criminal Procedure and Hindu Marriage Act 1882.
Edge of Consent Bill of 1891 is a milestone in the history of the social life of British India in the 19th century. It was the climax of a long-standing debate, which was the center of thought on the issues of reinstatement of marital rights, divorce and child marriage. The provision of penalties for raising the age of sex to 10 to 12 years and terming it as a violation rape was 10 years imprisonment or lifelong land, it was an indicator that steps can be taken against child marriage. According to noted social reformer and historian S. Natarajan, this law was the ultimate criterion for reform in India, which greatly influenced the ideology of the British public. This was the first step of reform when the Indians conceptually raised voice,

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