Mumbai welcoming, yet discriminatory, say youth

While 61% of young people in the city think Mumbai is welcoming to migrant youth, one-third perceive discrimination on the basis of mother tongue, caste, gender or place of origin, according to a new survey of urban youth in Mumbai, reports Bhavya Dore.

While 61% of young people in the city think Mumbai is welcoming to migrant youth, one-third perceive discrimination on the basis of mother tongue, caste, gender or place of origin, according to a new survey of urban youth in Mumbai.

HT Image

The findings have been incorporated in the “State of the Urban Youth India 2012: Employment, Livelihoods, Skills” report released last week as an exercise to understand young people’s issues and concerns.

“Young people seem to recognise that discrimination exists but they seem to take it in their stride,” said Padma Prakash, director of the IRIS Knowledge Foundation, who edited the report.

“Mumbai is better than most other places,” said Vamlalruat Kima, 33, originally from Mizoram, who moved here five years ago. “I have faced discrimination but you get used to it.”

Other concerns of young people in the city included education, with 49% saying good quality education was most important for a prosperous lifestyle. More than 50% said there was no social support system for young people in the city, but 54% also said community participation did not contribute to prosperity.