Mere growth of the middle class is not a comfort unless there is an upward movement in the percentage of population which is able to access the minimum comforts of life
It was HG Wells who talked about middle class being pushed down or pulled up to create a world which will have only two classes of people, one living above the ground in luxury and the other living underground. More recently, the Indian Railways had demonstrated the intention of getting rid of “middle class” by offering only first and third class accommodation. Still, long after Wells, and abolition of “second class” by the Indian Railways, the middle class do survive in the dreams of the poor (glorified as BPL category), as they hope one day to cross over the poverty line and become part of the middle class and the wishes of the rich who need a healthy middle class to carry out their orders. What will be the future of middle class in India?
Who all belong to the middle class? Who knows! Sometime back, ADB (Asian Development Bank) offered a vague definition for middle class, suggesting daily per capita consumption at $2 to $20. Such an approach suits bodies engaged in marketing goods and services and supporting governments in policy formulation. It helps to interpret poverty levels in one way when they want to sell an idea or a product and quite differently when the purpose is comparison among countries for extending benefits or concessions. Needless to say, the concept of poverty or more appropriately put, hunger, also vary depending on the constituency interests of the person explaining it.
Some say, the middle class is growing in India. Mere growth of the middle class is not a comfort unless there is an upward movement in the percentage of population which is able to access the minimum comforts of life like a house to live, facilities to educate children, food security, healthcare and arrangements for looking after the aged and physically/mentally challenged members of the family. Here, even the statistics reach us after the “date of expiry”.
The government, which is generally owned and operated by the upper class (in the economic sense, meaning those who have moved much above middle class) does not encourage a growing middle class. In the preferred situation, governments the world over dream of the prediction made by HG Wells coming true. Not only dream, they are doing everything possible to realize that dream. Governments and people who decide the fates of governments who generally belong to the BPL (Businessmen-Politicians-Lawyers) combine have a vested interest in keeping the majority of people poor and craving even for starvation wages. Only in such a situation the rich and the powerful can sit pretty on the heap of ugly wealth they accumulate.
All of us have different reasons for making noises and we patiently wait for our turn. Because we are middle class. We don’t have our own voice. We echo the hopes and aspirations of those who are ‘below’ us or more often, carry out the wishes of our masters from the elite intelligentsia and the rich ruling class. We enjoy joining the self-appointed leaders in their fight to raise the poverty line by Rs2 from the present Rs32 per dium or shout with Anna Hazare when he has a problem with corrupt ministers and public servants.
We trust people when they tell us that corruption is all about government servants and police constables who take bribes and all is well on the other side of the fence where private sector is carrying on honest business. Some recalcitrant boys among us have started questioning anything and everything with an eye of suspicion. They say asset accumulation by union ministers and some politicians is at a much greater pace than the growth of GDP (gross domestic product) and some industrialists who can ‘manage’ things are cornering nation’s resources free or at throw away prices. We keep listening. In between a story is planted that the person making so much noise against corruption herself has claimed a few rupees extra in a travelling allowance bill while in service and what right she has to shout against plundering of lakhs of crores of public funds. We start chasing her.
Workers in the government, public sector and organized sector outside generally belong to the middle class. This category of workers has trade unions or organisations to take up their work-related issues with the employer. Over time, leadership of these organisations have gone to less busy politicians and the governments and managements have successfully broken the organisations into convenient small pieces terribly affecting the bargaining strength of unions. Average worker in the unorganized sector is below or around poverty line and hopes some day to make his or her son or daughter a white-collar employee. Much like some characters in Katherine Boo’s now famous book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers”.
The low level of literacy in India is congenial for perpetuating the present situation where 50% of the population will remain poor and hungry, 30% will belong to the middle class aspiring to become rich some day (but will be pulled down to the lower category fast!) and the remaining 20% will enjoy life at the cost of the remaining 80%. That will be the subject for another article!
(The writer is a freelancer based in Mumbai. He can be contacted at [email protected].)