Being traditional no longer a small town prerogative

Are the youth in small towns more traditional in their thinking? Not really. While Ranchi and Ahmedabad may have the most number of respondents who say they pray regularly (69%), Delhi comes a close second with 67%.

Are the youth in small towns more traditional in their thinking? Not really. While Ranchi and Ahmedabad may have the most number of respondents who say they pray regularly (69%), Delhi comes a close second with 67%.

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The capital also had the highest number of respondents who preferred a joint family set up — 80.3% — and the second highest number of those who said they would marry a person selected by their parents without any questions (52%).

Ninety-four per cent of respondents in Delhi (the third highest) and 98% in Kolkata (the second highest) said they would prefer religious rituals over a court marriage. Hyderabad was at the top here with 99%.

"The difference in attitudes is not so much between metros and small towns now, as between the anglicized-elite section of the big cities and all the others. Those outside that anglicized-elite circle in cities have the same values as those in small towns," says Tripathi.