| One of America's greatest presidents, Franklin D Roosevelt, once remarked: "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future." In the context of today's India, what is the current young generation all about? There are 540 million Indians between 18 and 34 years making up almost 55 per cent of the population. When India was liberalised in 1991, our respondents were between 2 and 14 years old, so they are the first generation which has been born or grown up in relative affluence. They have never known scarcity. In that sense, this generation is unique. What's more, by 2015 nearly 60 per cent of Indians will have been born post-reforms-they will carry none of the legacy their parents did. To find out what today's generation is all about, we commissioned a comprehensive opinion poll, the third in a series, that examines the mind and motivation of today's urban youth. Our earlier two polls had looked at their attitudes to serious issues, from politics to the economy, jobs and religion. This time, we decided to focus on what they did in their leisure hours. The findings show that the world is their oyster, rushing between studies and work, squeezing whatever fun they can watching TV, chatting on the Net and being organically attached to their ubiquitous mobile phone. With 70 per cent of urban youth owning mobile phones, and 23 per cent on PCs and laptops, networking is their major pastime. An unprecedented 23 per cent want to be entrepreneurs (it was 19 last year), and though government service is still the preferred option (though it's down to 34 from 47 per cent), the survey shows that money is becoming a priority. Culturally, however, they display a strong core of conservatism. With almost the entire surveyed group spending their leisure time either hanging out with friends or at home, it is clear that hitting the nightclubs is a minority phenomenon. While not exactly homebodies, they know how to exploit technology to stay in tune with the rapidly changing world around them. A fittingly young team worked on the results of the survey, speaking to sociologists, marketers and media analysts to confirm the data. Principal Correspondent Supriya Dravid, 25, and Sub-editor Gaurav Rajkhowa, 22, felt it was an accurate reflection of the way they live their lives. Today's youth have a huge advantage. No generation has ever grown up with the means, technologies and opportunities to dictate their own future and that of the country. As our survey shows, for the leaders of tomorrow, globalisation, social liberation and access to technology has not altered their essential Indianness. It seems to me that the future of India in the exciting years ahead is safe in their hands. That's a comforting thought for a Midnight's Child like me. Index
|
