Research is not a straight-forward, neutral process of gathering, analyzing and translating information into 'truth' or 'knowledge' . It is layered and loaded with much more. As the prominent scholar Foucault (1977) states, "Truth is a thing of this world: it is produced only by virtue of multiple forms of constraint", highlighting the inseparable role of knowledge and 'truth' from power relations and discourses within societies, and that it is in fact constituted from it (apud HEWETT, 2004, p.3). Thus, research can be seen as a process of power struggle. Decolonizing research is thus an attempt to acknowledge, credit and validate the existence of multiple truths, ways of knowing and myriad ways of using the outcomes to impact communities. Participatory research is a key milestone to decolonizing research where the 'researched' become active participants in all steps of the process. While this is transformative, it also means that participatory research has power dynamics that are intrinsic to the collaborative process (MCDONALD, 2021). This paper attempts to highlight a model of participatory research with youth from urban poor communities in India, examining the critical elements of the process that make it distinctly empowering and challenging of mainstream processes, while also reflecting on the challenges and dilemmas that emerged from this process. KeywordsParticipatory research; Decolonizing methods; Youth; Urban poor communities. Jinka Sawaal Unka Netrutva: O papel de liderança dos indivíduos e das comunidades em pesquisa participativa com jovens na Índia ResumoA pesquisa não é um processo direto e neutro de coletar, analisar e traduzir informações em "conhecimento". Como afirma o proeminente estudioso Foucault (1977), ao destacar o papel inseparável entre o conhecimento e a 'verdade' nas relações de poder e nos discursos (FOUCAULT apud HEWETT, 2004, p.3), "a verdade é uma produção deste mundo, a partir de múltiplas formas de coerção". A pesquisa decolonial é, portanto, uma tentativa de reconhecer, creditar e validar a existência de múltiplas verdades, conhecimentos e metodologias, visando impactar direta-