§ 8. Mr. THURTLEasked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he is in a position to state the attitude of the Government of India in regard to the question of raising the legal age of marriage in India?
§ Earl WINTERTONA Bill designed to establish for the first time a minimum age, by penalising the contracting of marriages between parties below that age, but without rendering such a marriage invalid, is now before the Indian Legislature. As I explained in answer to a question by the hon. Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Pethick-Lawrence), on 17th December, the attitude of the Government of India towards this Measure is one of cordial approval.
§ Mr. THURTLEIs the Noble Lord aware that last week the Government Members of the Legislative Assembly voted down the particular Bill to which he has referred?
§ Earl WINTERTONNo, Sir. I am not blaming the hon. Member if he has gathered his information from the Press report, which was necessarily somewhat short. What happened was that the Government Members voted for the Motion delaying the progress of the Bill, and 1376 their reason for doing so was that important sections of the community had shown great hostility to the Measure, and they thought it best, in the interests of the Bill, to await the Report of the Committee which is now examining the cognate subject of the age at which consent to sexual intercourse can be set up as a valid defence to a charge of rape. It was done in the interests of the Bill.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODHas not the Bill been killed for this Session?
§ Earl WINTERTONI can give an absolute assurance that in this, as in other Bills, the Government of India have regard to the feelings of the House. The right hon. Gentleman knows that there are circumstances, which are difficult to explain in reply to a question, where any Government in the interests of a particular Bill, has to adopt certain tactics. The Government of India allowed their Members to vote for the Motion in consequence of the view which they held.