*Neera Misra is an independent scholar and Founder-Chairperson of Draupadi Dream Trust, advocating for the research and restoration of ancient Vedic and Mahabharata heritage.
While proponents argue that teenage sexual activity should be decriminalized to protect romantic adolescent relationships, diluting POCSO risks undermining constitutional protections.
The tragic death of a 10-year-old child bride on her wedding night compelled the British to enact the Age of Consent Act 1891, raising the threshold to twelve years. Child marriages were the outfall of destructive invasions of medieval time. Decades of reform culminated in the 1978 amendment to the Child Marriage Restraint (Sarda) Act, which set the legal age of marriage at 18 for women and 21 for men. Petition seeking clarification on POSCO act 2012, led to appointment, by the then Supreme Court judge, of Legal Activist, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising as Amicus Curiae. She pivoted the focus toward lowering the Age of Consent to 16. The ‘age’ debate presents critical legal, ethical, health besides even civilization concerns in Bharat.
While proponents argue that teenage sexual activity should be decriminalized to protect romantic adolescent relationships, diluting POCSO risks undermining constitutional protections (Articles 14, 21, and 39(f)), and exposing vulnerable minors to trafficking, grooming, and power imbalances with adults. Lowering the threshold aligns poorly with the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and national efforts to eliminate child marriage, an issue affecting 23% of young females (NFHS-5). This push directly contradicts established marriage laws and risks legalizing adolescent sexual activity, opening the door to increased child abuse. Any decision on this matter will have far reaching consequences on not only the life of the adolescent but the family & society at large. The cultural tradition and civilizational aspect need equal attention. Unchecked early sexual activity also poses significant physical and mental health risks, including teenage pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and long-term psychological impacts linked to early condom use. Critics emphasize that consensual teenage experimentation should be handled via counselling and existing juvenile justice frameworks rather than legal dilution. Furthermore, influences from foreign-funded entities to alter sexual boundaries threaten family structures and traditional civilizational norms that underline celibacy during student years. Psychologist Thomas A. Harris, in his 1969 book, I’m OK – You’re OK, analysed four life positions in a human, in terms of Transactional Analysis and psychology: he notes that a child starts absorbing surrounding energies from the time it’s conceived. Almost five thousand years ago ancient Bharatiya scholars had created a research compendium on human biology and nature, the science of life: Ayurveda. The treatise famous as the Charak Samhita is a foundational text aiming for a 120-year healthy lifespan in harmony with the environment. This system structured four life stages (Ashramas: Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sanyasa). It laid down the SOP, an operating system for healthy constructive life of I’m OK – You’re OK. Harris calls this a position of psychological balance, an outcome possible through good education and grooming. Brahmacharya (ages 6–25) served as the bedrock of healthy human development. This phase was devoted to mastering Shaastra (knowledge) and Shastra (defense), discovering personal capabilities, and understanding duties for future life stages. Here, individuals learned the four Purusharthas—Dharma (righteousness), Artha (prosperity), Kama (legitimate desire), and Moksha (liberation)—as universal guides for meaningful life. Brahmacharya being the essential stage that builds character, personality, and identity in Bharatiya social system. This scientifically structured lifestyle, grounded in cognitive, psychological, and physiological understanding, sustained Bharat as the world’s oldest living civilization. The holistic social engineering enabled ancient Bharat to thrive as a prosperous, healthy Vishwa Guru. Inspiring Ralph Waldo Emerson remark “…In the great books of India, an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence, which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the questions that exercise us…”. As young individuals experience physical and psychological changes, the mentorship of elders, Gurus, and mothers helps address their curiosity, anchoring them with purpose and conviction. By fostering healthy relationships and self-management, Brahmacharya seamlessly prepares one for the duties and responsibilities of Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and Sanyasa. This foundational period, with appropriate guidance, nourishment, and care instilled the I’m OK – You’re OK mindset. The legal battle in the Supreme Court is targeted by foot-solder forces with western vested interest, risks to manipulate the adolescent youth from the tender student age, in attempting to legalize the lowering of age. Western traders once subjugated Bharat through an “I’m OK –
You’re Not OK” superiority complex; today, consumerist foreign powers use Social Media for cognitive warfare via “Algorithmic Cognitive Reinforcement Loops” (ACLR) to subvert Bharat’s social cohesion and dent its family bonds. These foreign influences and legal activists risk exposing the young toward promiscuity, substance abuse and related crimes, even consumerism: diverting youth from its core aims of education, characterbuilding, and healthy family life. To stall Bharat’s rise toward Viksit Bharat, this strategy targets its core strength, the youth in schools, endangering its cultural fabric for commercial gain. Protecting minors from exploitation must remain paramount. To preserve child welfare, Bharat must enforce strong safeguards rather than weaken legal protections. Such efforts by Western-aligned activists also directly undermine Bharat’s long-standing civilizational traditions and social structure. For centuries, Bharatiya society thrived in the position of ‘psychological balance’. However, western influence and subjugation imposed contrasting ideologies, instilling a deep inferiority complex in sections of society. This shifted their mentality to I’m Not OK – You’re OK syndrome, creating a belief that anything originating from the West was inherently superior. Driven by an internalized inferiority complex, many reflexively started promoting western ideologies.
Bharatiya civilization has historically weathered destructive invasions that destroyed traditional Gurukul education restricting girl child’s educational and social life. Over time, Indian society has begun overcoming colonial and Marxist distortions of its historical roots. Grounded in its ancient wisdom, the nation will resist lowering the Age of Consent to 16, advocating instead to raise it to 21, ensuring young people reach full maturity before making lifealtering decisions.
ब्रह्मचर्येण कन्या युवानं िवन्दते पितम् || From Atharvaveda 11.5.18- the Brahmacharya Sukta states that girls, like boys, should observe brahmacharya (a disciplined student life) and acquire education before entering into marriage. The hymn places equal importance on the education of girls as it does on boys.
