A moment to remember Designing our lives Life doesn't stop at sixty Viva la entertainment A day in her life Incredible India People, ah people! Lost in the melee What’s wrong with us? Sex education? Chee! Chee! Fair enough To kiss or not to kiss Seeds of change What's in a name? Resolutions, resolutions City life Dressed to kill Conspiracy of silence Urban gutter Body beautiful

Considering the way political leaders in some states, including Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, are up in arms against introduction of sex education in schools, it would seem that examples of birds and bees should still be cited to explain 'how a baby is made.' Some of them, of course, have ignored the hum do, hamara do slogan of the government blatantly. Any which way, it's absolutely hypocritical to advocate a 'no-sex-education -please-we-are- Indian' kind of slogan instead. Perhaps they think that teenagers in our good old 'family-oriented society' don't have anything to do with sex. Or that rising teenage pregnancy is something that happens only in the UK.

Ignorance about the body, sexual health and reproductive rights among girls worry healthcare providers and sociologists greatly. Add to that the high incidence of HIV/AIDS cases in India having around 2.47 million HIV positive people, and where knowledge of safe sex plays an important role in prevention , sex education among teenagers is definitely a necessity.

But where do our adolescents go for correct information? Girls often complain that they cannot ask questions when they attain puberty, because Ma or mashi would be scandalised. Teenage boys often sneak-off to cyber cafes to surf porno sites as their curiosity of the female body increases at this age. Those who think that their good old betas are there to consult 'study material' at these cafes are ostriches of the first order. Worse, young adolescents may even visit red light areas to assuage their curiosity . Sometime ago, the police in Kolkata found evidence that some school boys had taken French leave to do just that.

Yet, our leaders, and some self-appointed moral guardians of the society, cry hoarse every time sex education is mentioned as if telling adolescents the facts of life would lead to sexual orgies. In telling contrast, a survey done by a leading newspaper recently found that 68 per cent of those interviewed supported it and most support (47 per cent)classroom lessons. And 72 per cent respondents in five metros believe that the kids today have patchy perception about sex.

True, the classes and materials have to be prepared sensitively keeping in mind cultural sensibilities. The teachers too sometimes need more training than the students. These nuts and bolts can be worked at through discussions. But to brush off sex education as un- Indian is laughable and dangerous too for the health of the future generations.