This book explores the attitudes, anxieties and aspirations of India's burgeoning young population in a globalised world. Drawing upon time-series survey data of the Indian youth aged between 15 and 34 years across 19 Indian states, it provides key insights into a range of themes along with an overview of the changing trends and patterns of their behaviour. The volume examines the job preferences of the Indian youth, their career priorities and opinions on reservations in employment and education sectors. It measures their degree of political participation and studies their attitude regarding political issues. It looks at aspects relating to their social and cultural contexts, preferences and practices, including lifestyle choices, consumption habits and social customs such as marriage, as they negotiate between tradition and modernity. Further, it discusses the anxieties and insecurities that the youth face, their mental health and their experiences of social discrimination. The essays here offer an understanding of a critical demographic and shed light on the challenges and opportunities that the Indian youth confront today.

Lucid, accessible and empirically grounded, this volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of sociology, political sociology, political studies, youth psychology and anthropology as well as policymakers, journalists and the interested general reader.

Sanjay Kumar is Professor and Director at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, India. He is one of the founding members and currently the Co-Director of Lokniti, a research programme of CSDS. His area of specialisation is electoral politics, though by using the survey method he has been engaged in research on a wide range of themes: Indian youth, the state of democracy in South Asia, Indian farmers, slums of Delhi and electoral violence. He has published several books, edited volumes, contributed chapters and published articles in various journals. His most recent book is Post-Mandal Politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns (2018). His other publications include the books Electoral Politics in India: The Resurgence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (with Suhas Palshikar and Sanjay Lodha, 2017); Changing Electoral Politics in Delhi: From Caste to Class (2013); Measuring Voting Behaviour in India (with Praveen Rai, 2013); Indian Youth in a Transforming World: Attitudes and Perceptions (with Peter R. deSouza and Sandeep Shastri, 2009); Indian Youth and Electoral Politics: An Emerging Engagement (2014) and Rise of Plebeians? The Changing Face of Indian Legislative Assemblies (with Christophe Jaffrelot, 2009). He also writes regularly for national and regional newspapers, both in English and Hindi languages. His articles are published in The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Asian Age, Deccan Chronicles, Dainik Bhaskar, Rajasthan Patrika and Mint. He appears frequently on Indian television as a psephologist and political commentator, and has been an international election observer in many countries.