The Indian Middle Class, so called is perhaps one of the
sketchiest concepts in modern Indian times. If you go by simple run off the
mill, Wikipedia stats, Indian Middle Class is 3% or about 40 million of Indian
population. By another estimate, this will account for approximately 475
million people by 2030. However, Indian Middle Class is a far cry from being a
single monolithic entity. That is, the middle class in India, is hardly defined
by simple economic parameters. Being of Middle Class comes from a sense of
belonging far deeper than of monetary proportions. It is a social construct,
even a choice of lifestyle, a body of belief system and sometimes even a sense
of smug entitlement. Coming from a Middle Class is a narrative in itself. It is
quintessential Indian version of the rags to riches story. In a world where the
strong are increasingly emulating the weak, and need is glorified, where
exactly does the Middle Class stand?
Let’s try and examine the fittest example of an Indian
Middle Class family. A fairly young couple, who got married in their late 20’s,
pooled in their individual resources, while working long hours in tiny corporate
houses of a large Indian metropolitan city. Soon enough they find themselves
pitch forked under the weight of an unreasonable home loan for a squalid
apartment, while nervously anticipating the arrival of their first born. Quite
believably confused whether the happy occasion should bring forth celebratory
drinks or impending gloom resulting from enhanced expenses. A few years on, the
happy family is nominally complete with two tiny tots who enjoy occasional
annual short picnic trips with their parents to tiny Rajasthan towns or if more
adventurous, to the likes of Shimla and Manali. The Parents by now have
exhausted their time, energy, zest for life and have dedicated their lives to
hatching ambitious educational plots for their kids’ glorious future. They take
these two vacation days to dance away into the wee hours of the morning under
shady disco lights, in some obscure camp site. Run this on a repeat and it fits
into each of our lives, like a hand in glove. Exhausted and wasted aspiration
is characteristic number one for the Indian Middle Class.
Characteristic number two, is the desperate need of the
middle class to cling to the traditional Indian way of life. Perhaps this is
the greatest contradiction of our times. The middle class is aspirational,
ambitious, willing to push forward to break the glass ceiling. The middle class
doesn’t shy away from dedication, hard work or zest. The lack of opportunities
for this segment is countermanded by sheer ingenuity. There is a will and
almost always, there is a way. But, when it comes to the life choices our
children have to make, the middle class is surprisingly rigid. The aspiration
and ambition that is the trademark of the middle class, fizzles out when it comes
to the question of marriage, parentage, sexuality etc. While this perfect
couple would want their kids to grow up to achieve heights of professional
success, they will sooner or later put their feet down if either of them refuse
to follow the norms followed by their peers. The middle class abhors leading,
and loves to follow.
The middle class is also plainly fickle. Just like the roman
mob, the Indian middle class is light on judgement. Political opinion, social
judgement, nationalism and religion are formidable forces in today’s times. I
don’t say, the entire Indian population is fickle because a remarkable size of
the population that sits below the poverty line does not have the luxury of
forming or bearing the consequences of having an opinion. Their votes do
matter, but the casting of these votes is influenced by caste divide, religious
power play and generous doses of entertaining nationalism. Jobs, is something
pivotal to all but understanding the construct of an economy, perhaps starts
with the middle class. Therefore, the socially influenced class, the
nationalist class, the piously religious class, is the middle class that has
the purchasing power to buy a smartphone. It is plainly not middle any more.
And
so, I call the middle class the biggest myth of our times. This is a group of
people with a strange sense of rootlessness. All of us are. We have traversed
an arc of experiences, where we neither feel at home at our origin nor at the
present station. This lack of identity is us, the middle class. It was the same
with our parents and maybe it will be the same with us. Unless we take an onus
to not follow, and to do what we think is best in the circumstances, and not
just what everyone else is doing. Maybe that is what middle class should
include in their life goal list.