Uniform Civil Code: In the midst of the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, there is a heated debate in the country regarding another matter. That is Uniform Civil Code. After all, what is this UCC and what will be its benefit and harm to the country, government and general public?
Debate is going on about this from the road to the Parliament. The Supreme Court also wants that UCC should be implemented in India as soon as possible. There are many such questions regarding UCC, for which no solution is yet visible. One of them is that what will happen to the children born out of child marriage? Will that child be considered illegitimate or illegal or will he get the right to share the property?
Status of child marriage in India: To say that child marriage is illegal in India and for this there is a provision of punishment in the law. Despite this, the rate of child marriage in the country is very good. According to a report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the rate of child marriage in India is around 23 percent. That is, almost one out of every four children has a child marriage.
Even after making the law, the government is not able to curb it. Now the children born out of these 23 percent child marriages will get legal status or else these children will be considered illegal. For this very strict reforms will be required in UCC.
Birth rate of children in India: According to a report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) ie child fertility rate in India has become 2.0 at this time. It has decreased as compared to last time. While according to the ideal ratio it should have been 2.1 as compared to the previous NHS report.
TFR was 2.2 in the previous report. According to experts, people have become more cautious about family planning. This is the result of that. Anyway, the population rate in the country has become a big issue at this time. The total population of India has also reached about 140 crores at this time.
Women and Birth Rates in India
According to the NFHS report, there are more women than men in India at this time. These figures show the positive results of the government’s policy of women empowerment. According to the latest figures, at present there are 1020 females per 1000 males in India. Earlier these figures used to be completely opposite.
From this point of view, there is a possibility of further increase in the rate of child marriage. On the other hand, if we talk about the birth rate of children, according to a figure this year, so far only 16.94 i.e. about 17 children are being born in comparison to 1000. Compared to last year 2022, these figures have decreased by about 1.25 percent.
Future of these children born in UCC
According to the figures, there has definitely been a decrease in the birth rate. Despite this, the rate of child marriage is shocking. That’s why children born in such a large number will be considered illegal or legal. Law experts should discuss it deeply and implement it through UCC. However, the draft of UCC has reached the law ministry of the government.
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