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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Silence of the middle class -Sandhya Venkateswaran

Silence of the middle class -Sandhya Venkateswaran

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published Published on Aug 1, 2013   modified Modified on Aug 1, 2013
-The Indian Express


It did not raise its voice in protest against the midday meal deaths in Bihar

In Bihar, more than 20 children died after consuming a midday meal. One would have expected largescale protests, anger, demands. But the incident has been greeted by an eerie silence.

Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, India - these are some of the countries where mass protests, largely by the middle classes, have brought issues to the streets and, in some cases, changed governments. The middle classes, of late, have been more than visible through their anger at poor governance and the lack of accountability among elected representatives. Corruption and women's safety brought protesters to the streets in India, while corruption and religious assertion shook democratically elected governments in Brazil and Egypt. The middle classes are not merely angry, they are powerful as well. How else would they be able to move, or better still, change governments? Why else would the media give so much space to their protests and negligible space to those positioned elsewhere in the societal hierarchy?

Not surprisingly, there is a growing interest in the middle classes. They are viewed as the catalyst to a change in the world order, to greater accountability, greater equity and greater efficiency.

Yet, a look at the issues on which the middle classes have raised their voice reveals, not surprisingly, that these issues are of direct concern to them. The anti-corruption "movement" in India saw a tide of protest because corruption is a problem that this section of the population faces regularly. The December gangrape in Delhi brought to the surface an anger rarely seen before. Suddenly, the realisation of "this could happen to us" stared everyone in the face. These were not the realities of some invisible other, they could be the realities of anyone in the vast middle class. How much of the protest was about the specific issue and how much of it about a broader angst is also up for debate. The writings on the gangrape noted how the rape seemed to be more a tipping point for pent-up rage against a system that was not seen to be delivering on any front, and less a source for rage on gender related injustices.

When the voice of the middle classes is raised in the name of national development, it is actually being raised for their vision of the nation, where they see tangible gains for themselves, and so their interests are safeguarded. Thus, the questions: how often has India witnessed middle class protests against the death of poor children or for their right to education; how often have the middle classes raised their voice against the displacement of the tribal community or slum dwellers due to the construction of factories and malls; how often do they protest against the lack of accountability and quality in the public health system?

Some may argue that the middle classes are not completely insensitive to issues outside of themselves. They volunteer to teach disadvantaged children, they write cheques for disasters. But only as long as this is external to their lives. The middle classes will teach but resist the inclusion of disadvantaged children into the elite schools of their own children. They lament inequity, but prioritise all that will fulfil their personal aspirations to remain the middle classes or reach above. Writing a cheque or volunteering take the form of middle class contribution to society.

The world's middle class is expected to grow to 4.5 billion by 2030, while the Indian middle class is expected to grow to 475 million by 2030. Some estimates forecast that it will be the world's largest middle class by then. These changes are huge and the power of these numbers cannot be ignored. The challenge faced by the world, and especially India, is how to engage the middle class on broader issues of society, issues that go beyond its own interests. The middle class must be given stakes in the structures and issues it has disengaged itself from, so that the power of its voice and action can be spread across a much larger catchment area.

The writer works on issues of social development and is head of advocacy at Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition.


The Indian Express, 1 August, 2013, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/silence-of-the-middle-class/1149418/0


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