Despite legislations and some efforts by government and non-government agencies to educate the people about the dangers of early marriage, prejudices and beliefs underlying the preference continue in India. In West Bengal too, there is a silent complicity to child marriage; many rural and backward communities treat it as normal and routine. This paper, based on field research, Census data and other secondary sources tries to analyse the gravity, causes and consequences of child marriage in the state with particularly reference to rural South West Bengal. It also attempts to suggest possible strategies and action plan to tackle the social evil.