2010PGY_YouthInIndiaBrief30

8/8/2019 2010PGY_YouthInIndiaBrief30

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Youth participation in civil societyand political life in India

country, and these six states together representtwo-ths o the countrys population. The study

included a representative survey o young peoplein both rural and urban settings. Respondents

included unmarried women and men andmarried women aged 1524 and, in view o thepaucity o married men in these ages, married

men aged 1529.

The survey was conducted in a phased mannerin the six states, between January 2006 and Apri

2008. A total o 50,848 married and unmarriedyoung men and women were interviewed in thesurvey. These included 8,052 married young me

11,522 unmarried young men, 13,912 marriedyoung women and 17,362 unmarried young

women. This brie is based on data obtainedrom 14,281 young men and 31,274 young

women aged 1524.

o what extent do young people participate incivil society?Participation in civil society, as measured by

participation in community-led activities ormembership in an organised group, was limited

among youth, particularly among young womenSpecically, 45% o young men compared to on

15% o young women reported that they hadparticipated in any community-led programmessuch as cleanliness drives, health promotion

activities, and celebration o estivals and nationdays. Far ewer young men (11%) and women

(10%) reported membership in organised groupsuch as sel-help groups, and sports and social

clubs. In total, 48% o young men and 23% oyoung women reported participation in civilsociety.

Findings indicate that participation in civil sociewas more likely to be reported by better than leseducated youth, and dierences were particularly

wide among young men. For example, 34% oyoung men with less than 9 years o schoolinghad participated in civil society, compared to 57

o those with at least 9 years o schooling. Thecorresponding percentages among young women

were 17 and 31.

Youth in India: Situation and Nds, Policy Bi Numb 30, 2010

Youth participation in civil society and politicallie is increasingly recognised as an important

development objective. The opportunities orparticipation that young people experience

in their communities may infuence theirdevelopment and the kind o transitions theymake to adulthood. For example, evidence that

comes largely rom developed countries indicatesthat youth who participate in community

activities or are connected to their communitiesare less likely than others to engage in

risk-taking behaviours. Moreover, behaviours andattitudes relating to community participation thatindividuals adopt as young people predict their

lielong civic aliations and perspectives.a

In India, the National Youth Policy 2003 hasunderscored the role o Indias youth in political

decision-making, and has argued or greaterrepresentation o youth in appropriate bodiesas well as more extensive youth participation in

the design and implementation o programmes.bIndeed, there is a recognition that todays youth,

who have better access to skills and inormationthan those o earlier generations, can play an

important role in infuencing political processesand the socio-economic development o the

country. However, there is very little evidence othe extent to which Indian youth participate incivil society and political lie.

This policy brie documents the participation

o youth in India in civil society, the extent towhich they uphold secular attitudes and their

perceptions about and participation in politicalprocesses.

Te study

Data are drawn rom the Youth in India:Situation and Needs study, a sub-nationallyrepresentative study undertaken or the rst

time in India o key transitions experiencedby young people in six states o India, namely,Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra,

Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. These states werepurposively selected to represent the dierent

geographic and socio-cultural regions within the

a National Research Council and Institute o Medicine. 2005. Growing up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in

Developing Countries. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.b Ministry o Youth Aairs and Sports. 2003. National Youth Policy 2003. New Delhi: Ministry o Youth Aairs and Sports,

Government o India.


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Findings also show that more unmarried than

married youth reported participation in civilsociety. Hal (51%) o unmarried young men

compared to one-third (34%) o married youngmen reported such participation. Among young

women, dierences were much narrower: 27% othe unmarried compared to 20% o the married

had participated in civil society. Rural-urbandierences were narrow among both young menand women.

State-wise dierentials in participation in civil

society were marked, with considerably moreyouth in Maharashtra and the southern states o

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu reporting suchparticipation than those in the northern stateso Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. Indeed, while

just 2435% o young men and 515% o youngwomen rom the northern states had participated

in civil society, a much larger proportion5666% o young men and 2539% o young

womeno those rom Maharashtra and thesouthern states had done so.

Do young people uphold secular attitudes?In order to gauge the extent to which youth

uphold secular attitudes, two issues wereaddressed. The rst assessed young peoples

attitude to social interaction with individuals odierent castes and religions. Specically, youthwere asked whether they would mix reely and

eat together with a person rom a dierent caste

or religion, and would talk to someone who hadan inter-caste marriage. The second issue assessedyoung peoples tolerance towards someone who

showed disrespect to their religion. Specically,youth were asked whether or not they consideredit acceptable to punish someone who showed

disrespect to their religion.

Findings show that the overwhelming majorityo young men and women (8996%) expressed

Youth participation in civil society andpolitical life in India

POLICY BrIef

secular attitudes about mixing reely with

individuals o dierent castes and religions.However, considerably ewer reported that they

would eat together with a person o anothercaste or religion or talk to someone who had an

inter-caste marriage: 82% and 71%, respectively,o young men, and 67% and 68%, respectively, o

young women.

Only 63% o young men and 51% o young

women reported armatively to all our items.Better educated youth were ar more likely

than their less educated counterparts to reportarmatively to all our items and the dierences

were more pronounced among young womenthan among young men: 69% compared to 53%among young men and 68% compared to 37%

among young women. Secular attitudes in allour situations were more likely to be reported

by unmarried young men and women than bytheir married counterparts (66% compared to

51% among young men and 57% compared to45% among young women). Likewise, secularattitudes in all our situations were more likely to

be reported by urban youth (77% o young menand 68% o young women) compared to rural

youth (57% o young men and 43% o youngwomen).

State-wise dierentials in reporting o secularattitudes in all our situations were again marked

and regional patterns appear clearly. While just

2335% o young men and 1214% o youngwomen rom the northern states reported secularattitudes in all our situations, a much larger

proportion8591% o young men and 6685%o young women rom Maharashtra and thesouthern states reported so.

In addition, ewer than one-third o young men

(29%) and just two-ths o young women(39%) considered it unacceptable to retaliate,

Percentage of youth who participated in civil society, according to selected characteristics and state

Percent

80

60

40

20

0

34

17

57

3134

20

51

27

49

24

44

21


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POLICY BrIef

Percent

100

80

60

40

20

0

96 95

82

71

63

91 89

67 68

51

% who would mixfreely with people

of other castes

% who would mixfreely with peopleof other religions

% who would eattogether with a person

of another caste/religion

% who would talk toa person who had aninter-caste marriage

% reporting secularattitudes about social

interaction in all4 situations

Men (1524) Women (1524)

Percentage of youth expressing secular attitudes

Percentage of youth expressing secular attitudes, according to selected characteristics and state

Percent

100

80

60

40

20

0

53

37

69 68

51

45

66

57 57

43

77

68


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POLICY BrIef

Suggested citation: International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Population Council. 2010. Youth participation in civil

society and political life in India, Youth in India: Situation and Needs 20062007, Policy Brief No. 30 . Mumbai: IIPS

Percentage of youth aged 20 and above who had voted in the last electionpreceding the interview, according to selected characteristics

Percent

100

80

60

40

20

0

6873

77

67

74

64

62 56 62

51

63

52

Documents

2010PGY_YouthInIndiaBrief30