How Old Are You?

How old are you?

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

‘If a year gets elapsed, you are getting aged by a year,’ I simply teased my friend.

But, he vehemently opposed my proposition. ‘I have got nothing to do with it, When I am hale and healthy and as strong as ever, why do you add a year rather unnecessarily with me?’

‘No, No, I am not getting old, My age is ….’ He whispered his age into my year.

I smiled at him. ‘How long will you say it? Whether you like it or not you are definitely getting aged as years go by.

When you ask a tiny tot, ‘How old are you?’, you will instantly get an answer, ‘I am six years old as fed by his/her parents.

But as you grow and getting aged, various social and legal factors play a vital role in your aging process.

Aging from a Legal Perspective

If a child is 3 +, it is time to get him or her admitted into a kinder garden.Until a child attains the age of 5, mother is the natural guardian of the child. When the child is above 5 years old, the father is the natural guardian. If the child is below the age of 18 years, in legal parlance, it is a minor.

When you commit a gravest crime as a minor, you are not treated at par with others especially in the administration of criminal justice. You are committed to juvenile homes. Again when you become a victim of rape as a minor, the person who commits the rape is given a stringent punishment according to the penal code.

If you are above the age of 18 or 21, you are a major, which enables you to have many legal rights like right to vote, right to acquire or sell movable or immovable properties. If you are a girl, you become eligible to marry; if you are a boy and above 21, you are eligible to marry. If you are 25 years of age you can contest an assembly seat or a Lok Sabha seat, if you are above 35 years of age, you can become a member of Rajya Sabha.