After the total prohibition in Bihar, which was enforced on Gandhi Jayanti last year, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched another scheme on Monday to coincide with birth anniversary of Gandhi against social practices of child marriage and dowry. In support of prohibition he gave a call for forming human chain on January 21, 2017 in which over four crore people participated across the State. Again he has has given a similar call to support the anti dowry and anti child marriage scheme by forming a human chain in January 21, 2018.
Saying that the total prohibition laid a foundation for the social reform, he expressed the confidence that the elimination of two social ills — child marriage and dowry would also bring social change. He said the human chain in January next will be a purely social event which will have nothing to do with the politics, he also appealed to all political parties to participate in it to make it a grand success.
The CM said for social reforms the participation of public is must and everybody should take pledge not to give dowry and not marry their underaged boys and girls. He also appealed to the people to refuse attending the child marriage or the wedding involving give and take in the name of dowry. “This way we can socially boycott such people who indulge in such social ills and give a strong message against these practices,” he added.
Nitish said that once these evils are contained it would help minimise atrocities against women. He said in 2016, altogether 987 cases of dowry death and 4,852 cases of dowry related atrocities had been reported. “This is happening in our society despite anti dowry legislation of 1961 and 2006 legisation of child marriage. We have committed to launch a strong campaign against these social ills and eliminate them,” he said addressing a function to launch the campaign where hundreds of women took pledge to abolish these evils. In Bihar the ratio of child marraige is 39 per cent.
Claiming that the total prohibition campaign was a big success Nitish said it has brought a remarkable change in the society particularly among the poor sections where male members had been wasting a major part of their income on consuming alcohol but now they have quit this practice and giving more attention on their family and its welfare besides education of their children.