TRANSFORMATION OF CULTURAL VALUES AMONG YOUTH IN GWALIOR

Abstract

Gwalior possesses a distinctive cultural identity shaped by its historical traditions, classical music heritage, festivals, family customs, language practices, and artistic institutions. At the same time, young people in the city are increasingly connected with national and global cultural influences through social media, streaming platforms, education, travel, and changing patterns of employment. This paper examines how these influences are transforming the cultural values of youth in Gwalior. It argues that cultural change should not be understood only as the disappearance of tradition. Instead, youth often retain selected practices connected with family, festivals, religion, and local pride while adopting new forms of dress, language, entertainment, communication, and self-expression. The paper is grounded in the concepts of cultural hybridization and glocalization and develops a domain-based framework for comparing core identity-linked practices with more flexible consumption-oriented practices. A mixed-method research design is proposed for youth aged 16 to 25 residing in Gwalior city. The design combines a structured questionnaire with focus group discussions and recommends the use of descriptive statistics, paired-samples comparison, correlation, and thematic analysis. The paper concludes that the most likely pattern is selective cultural adaptation rather than complete cultural homogenization. Such a perspective can help educational institutions, cultural organizations, and policymakers design programmes that preserve Gwalior's cultural heritage while recognizing the changing preferences and media habits of contemporary youth.