About 300 million people in India live in towns and cities. That's almost one-third of the entire population!  But city life isn't always easy, as 19-year-old Shahana explains…

Shahana, 19, lives in Hyderabad in India

‘Hello. My name is Shahana and I live with my mum and brother in a very big city in India called Hyderabad. There’s lots to see here. People come from far away to look at the old buildings like the fort and mosques. There’s also a zoo and a theme park.   

Most people who live here are Muslim like me, but some people are Hindus. Unfortunately, Muslims and Hindus haven’t always got on that well together.  

I joined a youth group which taught me lots of new games about peace. These games make you realise that where there are two different groups of people – like the Muslims and Hindus – you don’t always have to have winners and losers. You can also have games where everyone works together to live in peace.

I’ve met lots of young Hindus through the group and made some really good new friends. Now when I hear about problems in the city I don’t always blame the Hindus. I think that we should learn to live together a bit better.

In the future I hope that Muslims and Hindus everywhere in the world will come together to work for peace for all people.’