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No sex please, we are Indians
Sex still belongs firmly in the marriage bed in India where conservative habits remain strong despite new affluence, a survey of 18-35 year-olds has found.
Sex still belongs firmly in the marriage bed in India where conservative habits remain strong despite new affluence, a survey of 18-35 year-olds has found.
Only 20 per cent of respondents from 14 cities said pre-marital sex was okay while 79 per cent came out against it, Indian Today magazine reported at the weekend.
Seventy per cent also said they would not live with a person they loved before marriage. Just 28 per cent said they would. The remaining two per cent either did not know or could not say.
Arranged marriage was considered more successful by 73 per cent. Love marriages were favoured by 24 per cent.
However 45 per cent strongly agreed that divorce was better than a bad marriage and 26 per cent somewhat agreed. Sixteen per cent strongly disagreed and 12 per cent somewhat disagreed.
On another theme, 61 per cent opposed using sex appeal to boost careers. Twelve per cent were in favour and 25 per cent agreed "to a limit".
Some 2,895 street-corner interviews were carried out for the survey carried out by Nielsen-ORG-MARG. A majority of respondents were not married. Males accounted for 1,464 of the respondents.
India Today said the survey showed young Indians across cities "want managed modernity and tradition with a twist," debunking a common media theme of sexual liberation after decades of Victorian values.
Some 70 per cent of the 1.1 billion Indians are under the age of 35 and dubbed "Generation Me" by the leading English-language weekly.
"The dramatic changes in the economy ... and lifestyle choices, their access to enabling technology and the affluence that they currently enjoy make the most privileged and prosperous generation India has ever known," India Today said.
Religion also retains a major role in young Indian lives with 62 per cent of respondents visiting a place of worship at least once a week and only three per cent never. Sixty-one per cent also fasted for religious reasons.
