In 2006 we published a book titled Indian Youth in a Transforming World: Attitudes and Perceptions. It was based on the first-ever opinion survey conducted in India of 5,000 youth from across the country. We sought their views on many different aspects of their lives, from family and social networks to leisure and lifestyle, to trust and circles of belonging, to their anxieties and aspirations. We even elicited their views on politics and democracy in India and of the place of the nation in the larger world. It was a comprehensive opinion survey yielding valuable insights into how Indian youth, from all categories of class, gender, caste, education, and place of residence, positioned themselves in a changing world.
The results were both expected and unexpected. Although it was mainly an opinion survey, we expanded the study with anthropological and sociological insights culled from some of the case studies that we had also commissioned. Here are three interesting findings.
On the issues of trust and circles of belonging we found, “that the social spaces in which youth are located constitute cultural islands with few bridges since the youth, by and large, count among their friends, persons of the same religion, caste and gender. This is interesting since it suggests that social borders are still quite strong and border crossings are discouraged… an important finding since it tells us that in spite of the big changes that have occurred in polity and economy, in the domain of the social world the changes” are taking place more slowly.
On family and social networks, we learnt that “parental authority has considerable leverage in the life of most Indian youth and even though variations are a function of education and socioeconomic status (SES), with small changes towards more autonomy of decision-making in the higher SES, it is not enough to undermine the observation that no generation gap exists in India. Youth prefer to remain within the cultural codes of their family and social networks.”
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On the issue of leisure and lifestyles we discovered the obvious, that “dressing up in the latest styles is an important facet of self-expression and that this was a view strongly held by the younger segment of the youth.” Youth here seemed no different from youth elsewhere in the world. “The power of the media, especially the electronic media, seems considerable with a majority of youth watching films and serials on television.” It was clear that some messages, subliminal and overt, were getting through. There were many other interesting findings.
This was a world before the arrival of social media, after which everything changed. The moral and existential coordinates of youth have since been disturbed. The ubiquitous smartphone hosts news portals from which youth get their political information. It is their medical diagnostic tool, travel guide, fashion advisor, classroom, opinion board, photo exchanger, and, of course, social mobiliser. Their world today is more inter-connected than it was in 2006. It changes fast, provides style icons and creates aspirations. It is both real and virtual. The issue, therefore, is to know the impact of this digital world on Indian youth.
Driving forces
For this we must go beyond statistics. First of all, let us be clear that the age group we are talking about is between 15 and 29. In 2006, the government of India considered youth to be between the ages of 15 and 35, against the UN definition of 15 to 24. India has now revised it to 15 to 29. The numbers tell us that we are looking at 27.2 per cent of the Indian population. As per 2021 figures, this translates to about 345 million persons, which is more than the entire population of the US at 333 million. It is huge. How is the new digital world impacting 345 million youth in India?
There are two lenses through which we must construct an answer. The first, and the most obvious, concerns the “demographic dividend” that policymakers are excited about. This is seen in terms of (i) the increase in the labour pool, (ii) the growth in savings, (iii) the expansion of human capital, and (iv) the boost it gives to the economy. Economists say that a “demographic dividend” occurs only once in the trajectory of a country’s economic growth. Hence countries must not miss the opportunity to harness it. India is at such a moment. The government has prepared a National Perspective Plan for the Youth, 1996-2020, to reap its benefits. Ministries, business organisations, educational bodies, and youth associations have reportedly come together to implement the Skill India initiative. It is too early to say if it is delivering results or whether it remains, like many other government schemes, another slogan.
The youth comprise 27.2 per cent of the Indian population. A group of young men in Udaipur in September 2013. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/ iStock
The second lens is equally interesting. It looks at the impact of the drivers of modernity on youth. I use modernity as a catch-all concept that also covers the cultural products of post modernity. Today’s media is saturated with subliminal suggestions of goods to be consumed and lifestyles to be adopted. The images are unrelenting. In fact, you are regarded as belonging to the dinosaur age if you do not have an Instagram handle and a Facebook account. Apps such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Spotify, and TikTok add to the cultural indoctrination of youth, telling them what they can be, should be, and aspire to be.
While the production centres of these digital images are global, they are driven largely by the global north that produces the style statements, the fashion aspirations, the ankle-length pants, etc., of our age. It is not surprising that LVMH, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, and Givenchy is, as of June 2024, the third most valuable company in Europe. One may think that I am giving an elitist view when I invoke LVMH, but this would be a wrong reading since the only point I am making is the power of consumption dreams. They dominate imaginations across the world. India is not unaffected. The Anant Ambani wedding confirms my claim. For example, why was Rihanna and not Shah Rukh or Salman the star of the show? Why was so much media space given to the Manish Malhotra dresses and to the Audemars Piguet watches given to the groomsmen. Think about it.
The moral and existential coordinates of the youth today are shaped largely by the ubiquitous smartphone. Here, an Apple iPhone 16 Pro smartphone is on display at the Apple Inc. store in BKC, Mumbai, in September 2024. | Photo Credit: DHIRAJ SINGH/ Bloomberg
This lure of Western modernity, and its consequences for Indian youth, needs to be investigated. Although the impact on 345 million people will be varied, producing a plurality of responses, we can—based on newspaper reports, trends in other societies, and amateur ethnography—still hazard an analysis. I shall, in what follows, propose a typology of groups—Weberian Ideal types—into which most youth in India can be placed. This is a tall and bold claim, but I think it works. The typology offered is merely a conceptual device to group together youth based on a common pre-eminent factor that defines their world. In the real world, although there may be many factors that influence youth, some from other types in the typology, placing them in one type is to highlight the pre-eminent factor that defines them.
Highlights
- India’s youth population is more than the population of the entire US. In order to reap this demographic dividend, India must be aware of the factors that drive them.
- Most youth are driven by the goal of livelihood security. They try to meet this goal by seeking government jobs, or by becoming migrant labourers, gig workers, or by joining the elite group of the digital nomads.
- The digital nomads are the cosmopolitans—they are the social media influencers. The other group is that of the vigilantes and bhakts.
- The cosmopolitans and the bhakts are in direct and indirect contest. It remains to be seen which group wins in the long run.
The job-seekers
Most youth, especially those who come from financially vulnerable families, are driven by the goal of livelihood security. This is a truism. As the economy moves from an era of stable employment to one of contract employment, and, as the outsourcing of jobs to labour contractors becomes the norm, livelihood insecurity has come to define the world of a large section of youth across regions, classes, castes, and communities. In such an uncertain labour market, youth accept schemes that may not give them long-term financial security but meet their current economic needs.
One such is the Agnipath scheme. It gives a job in the defence forces for four years and a golden handshake to most recruits thereafter, with only 25 per cent of those trained being retained. The scheme has met with strong criticism, especially in regions such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, where the army has been a major source of livelihood security for generations. Despite these drawbacks, in 2024, 12.8 lakh youth applied for the nearly 52,000 positions in the forces. This was reportedly an increase of 10 per cent over 2023 and illustrates the desperation among youth for work and employment. Let me call this first group of youth the Sarkari Job Seekers. Most youth belong to this category.
Large numbers of youth migrate for jobs from the North, particularly from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar, to the southern States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa. In this image, migrant workers from Odisha share a light moment in Nettoor, Kerala. | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
The second group are the Migrants. Today, large numbers of youth migrate for jobs, both internally and externally. Youth from the North, particularly from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, migrate to the southern States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa to take up jobs as plumbers, carpenters, masons, electricians, hospital and municipal workers. They benefit from the better working conditions in these States, better salaries, and better personal safety, and hence the demographic dividend is accruing to the South from the youth bulge in the North.
The migrants’ world sadly acquired a physicality during the COVID-19 shutdown when thousands had to trek thousands of miles back to their home in the North. The situation of the external migrant is equally tragic. Not only do Indian youth pay large sums to traffickers to reach Europe and the US but they also make highly risky journeys to get there. Regular stories appear of young people risking their lives in harsh winters as they cross from Russia or Belarus into Poland or Finland or trek through the Darién Gap in South America to reach the US. On October 3, 2024, six migrants among 33 were shot and killed by Mexican soldiers when the truck they were travelling in tried to avoid a military patrol. There were Indians among the migrants.
Gig workers are the bonded labourers of the digital age. Here, they wait to collect their orders outside a mall in Mumbai, in August 2023. | Photo Credit: FRANCIS MASCARENHAS
The third group of youth are the Gig Workers. Because of livelihood demands youth have accepted the new gig jobs in companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, and Ola. NITI Aayog has estimated the number of gig workers in 2022 to be between 8 million and 18 million. This is estimated to grow to 90 million. Gig work is defined by high pressure from both ends, the company and the client, by income instability, absence of legal protections and employment security, and by considerable mental health problems. Gig workers are the bonded labourers of the digital age.
The Digital Nomad
The fourth group, the Digital Nomad, although much smaller in size, constitutes a distinct segment. These young people have chosen to work remotely from favoured geographies such as Goa or Coonoor. Digital nomads have computing skills that the companies of the digital age require, whether startups or established IT firms. The digital nomad earns well and is happy not to be on the escalator of modern life. Which social class they belong to is unclear although they come mainly from elitist backgrounds. Digital nomads sitting in India also work for global companies. They get work because they are networked. They have spawned a growing ecosystem of startups across the country but primarily in the metros. Their increasing number is a measure of the expanding middle class and a tribute to the Nehruvian policy of investment in higher education.
“Emboldened by a government that is playing a sinister game of seeking to build an enduring political constituency through the poison of communal politics, many underemployed youths have joined communal organisations that spread hatred.”
In tandem with digital nomads are the fifth group, the Cosmos (short for cosmopolitan), who respond in seconds to global trends in music, fashion and leisure. In contrast to government job seekers, migrants, and gig workers, the Cosmos are not troubled by livelihood concerns. They come from the cultural and economic elite, and although their numbers are small, they have a disproportionate impact on public life. They are the influencers. They drive social fashions. (Sanghis, who changed from khaki shorts to long pants, have already been alerted.) The recent scandal surrounding the resale of tickets for the 2025 Coldplay concert—originally priced between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 12,000 but resold for up to Rs. 9,00,000—highlights the rising influence of the Cosmo. A staggering 10 million people fought for 180,000 tickets. Cosmos are products of modernity, but a different modernity.
Bhakts and Vigilantes
The last group are the Bhakts and Vigilantes. Emboldened by a government that is playing a sinister game of seeking to build an enduring political constituency through the poison of communal politics—just as Netanyahu is doing in Israel—many underemployed youths have joined communal organisations that spread hatred. The Bhakts cross all the red lines the constitutional system has established over 75 years. A plural India is the only India there can be, which the Bhakts do not understand, schooled as they are in the hateful propaganda of the shakha. It is this plurality they seek to harm and undermine.
Cultural vigilantism is their method. It acquires an added life through social media. I cannot forget the 2017 incident when a man in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan asked his 15-year-old nephew to record him on video as he hacked to death and then burnt a labourer suspected of love jehad. This hateful mentality, sadly, is present among many young people today, emboldened as they are by the current dispensation’s use of digital technology.
Cultural vigilantism is method of the Vigilantes. It acquires an added life through social media. Bajrang Dal activists brandish knives during a protest demonstration at NIT Srinagar, in 2016. | Photo Credit: NISSAR AHMAD
This is the topography of India’s youth. While the pressure of livelihood insecurity will push many of them into precarious work, driven by the app ecosystem that produces an underclass of citizens—the new bonded workers of the digital age—another group will ride the opportunities of the digital age to become entrepreneurs and influencers. Hindutva politics beams to all six groups.
Future of Bharat
The future of India that is Bharat is at stake. The Cosmos and the Bhakts are in direct and indirect contest—direct, such as when vigilante groups oppose Valentine’s Day, and indirect, when they rewrite school textbooks. It is difficult to say which one will prevail. India’s size makes one believe that Coldplay and Kanwar yatras can be simultaneously supported. Currently they do co-exist. In the long run, however, I believe the Cosmos will win. History is on the side of modernity. History favours the images of consumption that capitalism produces. Otherwise, Rihanna would not have got a visa to India, blacklisted as she was by the regime after her comments on the farmers’ protest.
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The cultural nativism of the Bhakts may initially get supporters but, as the middle class expands and joins the global elite, as has happened in Japan, China, Dubai and Nigeria, their power will weaken. The periodic World Values Survey reports seem to suggest that this is the trajectory of most societies and India is no exception. It is the short run, however, that worries us, for the poison of hate is spreading. How much damage will it do to the social fabric of this ancient land? Only Siva knows. Will he appear again to consume the poisons emerging from the digital churning of Indian life?
Peter Ronald deSouza is an independent scholar. Indian Youth in a Transforming World: Attitudes and Perceptions is available online at https://sk.sagepub.com/books/indian-youth-in-a-transforming-world
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