Indians Proud of Country but Worried Caste System
Is Holding Country Back

Indians are proud of their country and want to see it punch its economic weight around the world—but are worried the caste system is holding the country back, according to a new BBC World Service poll looking at the way Indians view their country.

Visitors to BBC websites were invited to choose which questions they would like to see asked in the survey, which interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,616 Indians in December.

The poll found that a majority (71%) are proud to be an Indian, and nearly as many (65%) think it is important that India is an economic superpower. Most also think it is important that India should be a political (60%) and military (60%) superpower.

Indians are optimistic about many aspects of the modern Indian state over half (55%) think the Indian justice system treats rich and poor people fairly, while nearly as many (52%) think being a woman is no barrier to success any more. And these days, over twice as many (48%) would rather work for a private company than the government than the other way round.

But Indians also show a level of ambivalence about the country's traditions and heritage. While a majority think the country is being held back by the caste system, with over half (55%) viewing it as a ‘barrier to social harmony in India,’ one in two (50%) feels that ‘people in India don't take their religion seriously enough,’ while two in five (40%) believe that ‘young people have lost touch with their heritage and traditions.’

And if Indians are agreed on the need for India to be an economic superpower, they are less sure that recent economic growth has benefited them. Asked whether India's economic growth over the last ten years has benefited them and their families directly, exactly the same proportion (45%) say that it has, and that it has not.

The survey also reveals that many Indians are resigned to corruption being unavoidable a plurality (47%) agrees that corruption is a fact of life which we should accept as the price of doing business in today's world. It also shows that the young are less tolerant of corruption than the older generation, with 45 percent of 18-24 year olds regarding corruption as a fact of life, compared to 53 percent of the over-65s.

In total 1,616 citizens in India, were interviewed between 5-13 December 2006. Polling was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan and its research partner in India. The margin of error is +/-2.5. For more details, please see the Methodology section or visit www.globescan.com.