Age at marriage in India: the implications of the new legislation in the light of 1971 census data

Type Journal Article - Journal of Family Welfare
Title Age at marriage in India: the implications of the new legislation in the light of 1971 census data
Author(s)
Volume 27
Issue 3
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 1981
Page numbers 39-45
URL http://www.popline.org/node/389168
Abstract
An attempt is made in this study to present the differentials in the age at marriage in different stages and in the rural and urban populations. Data related to marital status by age and educational status by age and sex were drawn from the Indian Census Publication 1971 and from its Social and Cultural Tables. The data relating to the economic activity of females were derived from the General Economic Tables of the Census of India 1971. For females the mean age at marriage was 17.2 years for India as a whole, ranging from 15.0 years in Madhya Pradesh to 23.8 years in Nagaland. Mean age at marriage of 20 years or more was observed in 6 states: Kerala, Punjab and Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Sikkim. Mean age at marriage of under 16 years was found in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The remaining 12 states had between 16-19 years. For the country as a whole the mean age at marriage for females was fairly higher (19.1 years) in the urban areas compared to the rural areas (16.6 years). The mean ages were consistently higher in the urban areas in all of the states except Manipur, Nagaland, and Sikkim. In the rural areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the mean age at marriage for females was under 15 years. Differentials in the literacy rates for females in the rural and urban areas and in the overall total indicate that a higher mean age at marriage was associated with a higher percentage of literacy in all of the states. The exceptions were Manipur, Nagaland, and Sikkim where fairly low literacy rates in the rural areas were associated with a higher mean age. There were no definite relationships in the proportion of females engaged in economic activity in the rural and urban areas for the different states. For the rural areas, higher mean ages were associated with fairly higher proportions of females engaged in economic activity. A positive correlation coefficient was observed between these variables which was highly significant. Similar results were obtained when rural and urban areas were combined. The percentage literate determined the mean age at marriage more than the percentage of the economically active (when agricultural activities were also included in the economic activity) in the urban areas, but the tests of significance failed to show any significant results between urban and rural areas.

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