Majority of Indian youth quite patriarchal and hold conservative views: Report

As per a survey conducted, young Indians are not as progressive as often conceived

By: News Desk |
April 8, 2017 11:48 am

Ever wondered views of Indian youth on marriage, on homosexuality or on women working after marriage, if not, than this revelation is going to be an eye-opener. As most them are not quite progressive and hold patriarchal thought on various issue.

As per a survey conducted by Delhi-based Centre for the Study in Developing Societies (CSDS) and a political think tank in Berlin Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), young Indians are not as progressive as often conceived. The survey was conducted in 19 states and as many as 6122 people who were in the age group of 15-34 took part.

Traditional Thinking:

When asked if wives should always do what their husbands ask them, then 27% fully agreed to it, whereas , 24% said that they somewhat agree to it . There were only 23 % who completely disagreed.

Whether women working post marriage is fine, to which only 33% agreed however 16 % think it is some what right.

“Youth who are non-literate or have studied only up till primary school were found to be far more patriarchal (77% and 66%, respectively) than those who have only completed high school or attained higher education (59% and 41%, respectively), ” the surveyors stated.

Homosexuality:

Only 24 % of Indian youth approve homosexuality. Also urban youth was found to hold more patriarchal view on this as compared to the non-urban. Age also played an important role in it, as 15- to 17-year-old were way more approving.

Marriage:

Only 33% of Indian youth view that marriage is not important whereas 52% said that getting married is important. Also, 67% did not agree to live-in relationships.

Discrimination:

Study revealed that 56% of Indian youth is not at all discriminatory whereas 25% is low on discrimination. However, 9% is very biased. Some of the factors considered were willingness to have neighbours which belong to different caste or religion.

Eating Habits:

47% of Hindus from upper caste and 30% of OBC Hindus were pure vegetarians. “In total 30% of Indian youth reported to be vegetarians and nearly half of them (47%) said they would have problems with a neighbour who consumes non-vegetarian food,” the study said.