India, Dec. 5 -- Union Minister of Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi on Thursday said child marriage snatches childhood away from daughters and pushes them towards early maternity and "unimaginable suffering".

She was speaking at the launch of a '100-day Intensive Awareness Campaign for a Child Marriage Free Bharat', where she stressed that the country must adopt "zero tolerance" towards child marriage. The minister urged states, civil society groups, and community leaders to unite with an "unwavering commitment" to eliminate the practice. She said India had made "historic progress", but that far more remained to be done. "Even one child marriage is unacceptable for us," she said.

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