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Times are changing: India's youth a mix of old and new
The young in urban India want the country to change and progress faster. Paradoxically though, they remain overwhelmingly conservative in their values and materialistic in their aspirations.
The young in urban India are mostly a happy lot, and have high expectations from life. To meet these expectations, they want India to change and progress faster. Paradoxically though, they remain overwhelmingly conservative in their values and materialistic in their aspirations.
These are the findings of the annual Hindustan Times-MaRS Youth Survey,which also revealed that the youth picked Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a bigger political icon than the more youthful Rahul Gandhi or Arvind Kejriwal.
About 77% of those polled in the survey — covering more than 5,000 respondents aged 18 to 25 across 15 cities — said they are very happy with their lives while 62% have high expectations from their future. More than half said they know that if they don’t do well, the country won’t progress.
Yet, when it comes to personal choices, they remain conservative, under the pretext of upholding tradition. Respondents, from both genders and across cities, said they pray regularly (56%), want to live in a joint family (67.4%) and prefer religious rituals over a court marriage (88%).
The survey, which is in its fourth year, has many more startling insights into how India’s youth thinks – about relationships, consumerism, social interaction, traditions, aspirations, politics and role models. We detail them in a seven-part series starting today. Keep reading.
Read: Young, conservative, traditional: Here's India's gen-next
Read: 63% want to marry virgins, but majority approve of premarital sex
Read: Saving and splurging: What's on young consumers' minds
Read: Logged in generation next requires digital de-addiction
Read: India's youth reinterpreting God in a whole new way
Read: In politics, youth goes for content, not age or lineage
Read: India's young have set high targets to achieve that perfect life
Read: India's young turn to self-made icons known for their achievements
