This question can be answered only if we know what middle class actually is or what defines the middle class. So, How do we define the middle class?. By going through the dictionary it is the "class occupying a socioeconomic position intermediate between those of the lower classes and the wealthy". But I believe its more than just a definition. The Middle class can be defined by people's values ,practices and the culture they live in, apart from people's buying power. And these values change from one place to another as the culture changes.
The middle class of India is heavily influenced by cultural values and beliefs inherited
which have been passed down to us since many years. But these so called "Middle class values" have changed a lot and have caused the middle class to change with it.
To explore this we need to find incidents, rituals or trends from our past which have acutally defined the middle class. Futher,we need to digg deeper to identify how many of these trends or
rituals are still in fashion or followed religiously or whether they have been modified entirely.
And even if these values have been transformed they still proudly represent the manifestation of the Middle class.
The Paisa vasool Attitude :-
The value that clearly differentiates Indian middle class from the rest is the "paisa vasool".
The value called "paisa vasool" is like extracting full value from a service or product. We tend to recycle every possession of ours till it cannot be used for anything else. Extending the life of our prized possession is the first stage in the act of recyling. For example, As Santosh Desai says" old sarees were stiched into very comfortable quilts while old toothbrushes cajoled naadas through pyjamas" it is like the art of putting one thing to some other use. With recyling another trait which defines this class is controlled spending, bargaining and additional value seeking traits. Families used to spend only during festivals or special occasions. Housewives were an expert in bargaining, bringing down the price of vegetable from 200 to 20 was an art that only a middle class person can expertise in. Also getting dhania and mirchi for free with vegetables by incessant bargaining was an act of sneaking in additional value to make the transaction fullfilling. A obssession with stainless steel utensils, was also an indication of how much the middle class cared about the longevity of any material. Stainless steel managed to meet the needs of the middle class people to the fullest. It was seen as pure and indestructible, the two traits which gave it a pride of place in a kitchen. Because of its glint and strength, it was better aluminium which dulled in due course.
Now the scenario is changing as the middle class of India is moving towards greater affuence. In place of the stainless steel utensils ,glass and bonechina have come, thus bringing modernity into the lives of the people. A new middle class is emerging, but still some values have remained and that is because of the ingrained sense of scarcity than need for economy. We want to grab on everything available around us before anyone else does it. The middle class manifest itself through these values which have remained and through some which have been modified. Housewives still haggle for the "Thik dam" and we are still able to see the utility of an object in various deminsions. These value help us in detecting whether the middle class still exists or not.
Things that glued the middle class together "Our prized possessions":-
Some possessions in our lives have a special place in our hearts. These possession have been significant in shaping our attitudes towards people or things around us. Some of these possessions are still very close to us and some of them have lost their charm. As Santosh Desai puts it "No product comes close to capturing the essence of middle class india as well as the scooter". For decades the scooter was both literally and metaohorically the heart of Indian middle class.Though later the Bike completely captured the market of scooter but still scooter projected a lot about the Indian middle class. It provided safety on Indian roads as well as space to squeeze full family together. It had a dickey to keep vegetable or sundry needs of the family.The scooter depicts the middle class and is safe because it goes out of its way to advertise its lack of masculine ambition;it wears its unprepossessing modesty on its sleeve , by eschewing any heroics. A lot has changed from the days when Amol Palekar rode a scooter dipicting the middle class perfectly to now when the muscular John Abraham rides the bike with a panache. Now the nation has been taken over by the bikes which are more about outward appearance and less about the real thing.
Just like Scooter , An Autorikshaw has a lot to tell about Indian middle class. An Autorikshaw makes life easy in a miserly way. It reaffirms and gives substance to the Indian belief that life may be hard but that there is always a way. Now an Autorikshaw has been with us since a very long time and the kind of association that has been built around us very strong. Still we find it comfortable and safe vehicle to travel in.
Our obsession with appliances like transister, radio mixie, sewing maching ,TV and a fridge was clearly visible. Like our "paisa vasool" attitude, we tried to extend it's life till the last breadth. These were our prized possessions which tied the whole family together. Every member of the family was in a way or the other attached to each of the applaince. But before the advent of these sophisticated entertainment applainces, our tools of pleasure were Rummy "the card game", Antakshari a song game which used to be played in groups, Vividh Bharati the radio channel and finally the cinema. Rummy the card game gave us a chance to get together the whole family and share cherishable moments with each other. Antakshari was another game which bound us together and gave us the opportunity to sing together. These were the games which distracted us from boredom. Radio was a friend to us. But today the place of Radio has been taken by High Fi DVD music systems. The charm of sitting together and listening to a program show is lost. Place of Antakshari and Rummy has been taken by addictive computer games. Earlier we sang together ,we laughed together and broke bread together. We shared every joy or sorrow as a big family. But now the times have changed. The concept of joint family is dissolved, people don't have time for each other and concept of nuclear family has emerged. Increase in competition has led to increase in pay scale. People have no sense of belonging towards small things which carried a lot of meaning in our lives before. For us they don't carry the kind of magic they carried before. Globalization is also playing a very important role in bringing western values into the lives of the middle class people. Consumerism has increased by leaps and bounds.
Communication tools play an important role in setting up values .They defined the way we express our thoughts and our dependency on these on them. In the past the means of communication were mainly telegram,envolope ,postcard and the trunk call. For our middle class trunk call was the last resort and was done only in case of emergency like someones death. We were a close knit community even with a dearth of communication tools. Still people people where emotionally bound. The fear of the unknown used to bind them. Now with the advent of technology, many new tools of communication have emerged such as emails,cheap mobile phones with affordable call rate. Because of the availability of these tools,people have started taking the process of communication for granted. Vital emotion surrounding the communication has been lost and so is the emotion for our loved ones.
Values that shape the middle class :-
Middle class again comes into picture when talk about Matrimonials. Marraige is of central concern for the middle class as for them its about status and survival. I think the matrimonial agencies are alive because of the middle class. "How to market a person like a commercial by describing it in mere 20 to 25 words ?" is what these agencies do. Marriage has become a social transaction between two families. Another aspect which emerges out of this is, the emphasis on appearances and qualification. Too much emphasis is given on appearances and occupation. Our face is our identity.
Association of liquor with the middle class has been interesting. Liquor was never for the middle class masses, even if they drank they had to come up with some or the other logical excuses. Liquor in India was associated with criminals or unscrupulous people who were departing from social conformity. As Santosh Desai puts it "these attitudes towards alchohol were seen by the middle class to be the burden it needed to carry. In this generalization, the poor were 'below' these boundaries and the rich 'above' them. The frugal world of the middle class was held together bt an implicit conspiracy of sefl-restraint. And alchohol, with its not bestial masculinity ,was too potent a force to be allowed in this fragile quilibrium." But now times have changed, alcohol has become the sign of freedom, modernity and social integrated-ness. Though we have become a little casual in our attitude towards alcohol, we continue fear the influence of alcohol when in full action.
Sex is another topic which didn't go down well with the Middle class. Sex in India was denied as topic to discuss in public. Even the word "sex" when said was frowned upon. But in India sexual freedom is about freedom to enjoy sex not about freedom to have sex with different people.
It would be ironic to say that we live in a democratic nation, because a nation which can't be discribed without mentioning its caste systems ,dynastic politics,vip ,vvip and vvvipies. Middle class is hugely responsible for selection of the government by humbly nodding in front of this decrimination. A person is discriminated on the bases of caste, sub caste and the place of origin of caste and so on. Hierarchy is not restricted to caste alone. In education ,parents give preference to Mechanical Engineering than to Civil Engineering. The person getting into Civil engineering is looked down upon or commiserated for not gettign into Mechanical. Reverence for Hierarchy doesn't end here. Frisking at the airport still happens on Hierarchial bases ,politicians and vips are exempted from frisking and a common man is harrassed for no reason. In the midst of fake democracy the middle class is sustaining this so called "inquality in equality" by taking bits and pieces from its surroundings and past and imbibing them into its daily lives. Seeing this kind of hierarchy around them they are lured towards power and wealth. This causes a feeling of getting richer quickly. And urge for taking the "shortcuts to success". We dont want to discharge our duties but we want hefty pay packages for doing nothing. This mentality results in Symbolism or "just for name sake" attitude. Be it a traffic cop or a sweeper ,they indulge in everything execpt the duty given to them. And we on the other hand tolerate with much greater equanimity everything that is wrong around us.
Modesty is another natural trait of the middle class. Middle class people are shaped into the statues of modesty after seeing the intense power play and nepotism around them. When we attach "no or na" after every assertive sentance for making it sound like a plea than a command, we display a lack of individualism. We don't want to assert our opinions on others when we ought to. We lack the initiative taking abilities because of our "play-safe or chalta hai" kind of attitude. This
causes imperfectness and unproductive characteristics in a person. All these ever changing social and economic values have, to some extent, changed the structure of the middle class.
Conclusion :-
Under the influence of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, the middle class is ever changing. Therefore middle class can't be described as a homogenous group but fragmented by social values and ideology on one hand and income and occupation on the other. So if we were to define the middle class as a person, then he/she is a confused soul sandwitched between a generally haughty upper class and a choiceless lower class. It is facing fierce competition and pressure from within the fraternity. It has got so many choices to make and so many ambitions, wishes and aspirations to fullfill that it is always in a state of dilemma. It is obssesed with appearance ,status and occupation.The middle class in India is consuming everything and learning everything coming on its way just to get on to the "elite class" above it. It wants to fullfill every need defined in the Maslow's Pyramid of needs. But this middle class, which is fighting for its "Identity", has come a long way now. We just have to see it with a new pair of eyes, free from the prejudices of the past. The middle class is not just about some people of a certain income bracket but about the cultural values, affinities, lifestyles, educational attainments. Though this class is tough to define as it constantly aspires to mixup with the "upper class bracket" every now then, but it always manifests itself in the form of values which are easy to spot. The middle class today has an important task ahead as it's strong association with the global economy. The middle class which was labled as thrifty and conservative has now become dynamic, liberal and a driver of the Indian economy. The middle class of today has started voicing its opinion, recent examples have been Jessica Lal case, Reservations and RTI to name a few. The management consultancy firm, McKinsey predicts that India's middle class will reach 583 million by the year 2025.
