Young Samita has no immediate plan for marriage. At 26, she has been working as an IT professional, in Delhi since 2010. When asked about her sex life, she frankly admits to being in a relationship. On the possibility of marrying her current boyfriend her answer was somewhat casual. Clearly, her priority was her career, and there were too many variables in her relationship that could affect the possibility of marriage. Samita is not a character from some Bollywood movie. She is just one of a new generation of Indians, who seem to find premarital sex an acceptable, or rather amenable idea. .
India's integration into the global economy, has resulted in rapid economic growth. It has not only brought fresh career opportunities for the young Indians, but also influenced their cultural outlook to a great extent. The cultural values of the western world have slowly found their way into Indian popular imagination, through the Hollywood movies and TV shows. The movies and shows show sexuality, and sexual behavior in a relatively uninhibited expression. Even Indian film industries have gradually opened themselves to the issue of sexuality. The romanticism of hero and heroine kissing behind the tree are over, and modern India has the silver screen ablaze with flesh and desire. It's only natural then that the young generation sees sex, as a source of pleasure rather than a mere socially dictated act of continuing a family line. .
It is not only the influence of western popular culture, but also the demographic changes that are contributing to the cause of premarital sex. India boasts of the largest young population in the world. The pursuit and fulfillment of these ambitions also mean an increasingly delayed age of marriage. It is no longer biological puberty, but the financial or career wise maturity that signals the right age of marriage. Moreover, the growth of the tertiary sector activities, has also created a large pool of young girls who are competing and excelling in a world that was once largely reserved for the males.
