Civic disconnection and the intention to leave

The full distribution for “Have you ever physically attended a local civic governance platform, such as a Grama Sabha or open ward meeting?” (n = 399) is: No, I have no idea how local ward governance functions — 57.4% (229); No, but I know how and when they occur — 26.8% (107); Yes, multiple times actively — 9.5% (38); Yes, exactly once — 6.3% (25).

The cohort is clearly concentrated on this question. A single option carries 57.4% of responses, so the headline figure is stable enough to plan against. The smallest recorded answer, yes, exactly once, still represents 25 people — a group large enough to matter in programme design even at 6.3%.

“Are you personally interested in or planning to migrate outside of Kerala for studies or a career?” (n = 399) returns: Yes, I am interested / planning to migrate — 67.7% (270); No, I intend to stay and build my career inside Kerala — 32.3% (129).

Placed beside the primary figure, this measure shows a majority position — 67.7% on Yes, I am interested / planning to migrate — which is the more reliable of the two anchors here. Read together, the two questions describe cross-cutting analysis as a pattern reported across the cohort rather than an issue confined to a minority of respondents.

“Are you personally aware of the specific project funds and development welfare schemes kept exclusively for youth development in your local Panchayat budget?” (n = 399) adds: Completely unaware of youth-centric public budgeting — 55.4% (221); Vaguely aware of its existence — 36.6% (146); Yes, thoroughly informed — 8% (32).

This third figure is included because it constrains the interpretation of the first two: it shows where respondents locate responsibility or intent, and therefore which interventions the data can and cannot be used to argue for.

The sample is a community-recruited cohort of 399 respondents surveyed between 21 May and 28 June 2026. Figures describe this cohort; they are not state-level prevalence estimates and should not be reported as such.

The composition of the sample also shapes the totals: 74.4% of respondents fall in the older student and early-career band, and 72.7% identify as male. Any reading by gender, district or occupation needs disaggregated fieldwork this instrument was not designed to deliver.

The instrument records one moment in time, so nothing here identifies a cause or a trend. Statements about mechanism in this brief are interpretive and flagged as such.