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PlainSpeak
The "Great Indian Middle Class"
Needs to Politically Empower Itself
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
 In India’s ascendant trajectory towards global power status, one major
strength that is attributed to it is the existence of a large English
speaking, highly educated and professionally well qualified middle
class. A highly educated and economically prosperous middle class
provides the backbone of an advanced nation and in the case of a
developing economy like India it provides the shoulders and the muscle
on which the nation climbs the trajectory to power. India’s rising
knowledge-based economy is squarely based on the shoulders of its ever
expanding middle class. The “Great Indian Middle Class” is said to
number today between 320-350 million people. This amounts to nearly 30%
of India’s total population. In comparative terms it amounts to much
more than the entire population of the United States.
While this fact is one of which India can be proud of, what is
regrettable is that this “Great Indian Middle Class” has not politically
empowered itself. This lack of political empowerment of this vital
segment of the Indian nation and which generates India’s rising economy
can be attributed to two reasons. The first is the making of the “Great
Indian Middle Class” itself in that it does not participate in India’s
electoral process. The vast majority does not venture out on election
day to vote out of sheer laziness of not wanting to stand in long queues
to exercise their fundamental right to decide the political complexion
of the Government that would come into power and hence the political
destiny of India.
The second reason is political. The middle class in any country is
normally rightist and politically conservative and this makes them a
more natural ally of the Indian Right or the BJP. It may be too
simplistic a statement but a broad assumption like this is generally not
untenable. It is this which poses a political threat to the political
parties like the Congress and its allies which have adopted secularism
not as a conviction but a political tool to pander to minority
vote-banks. In addition they try to manipulate the Dalit vote banks in
their favor on grounds of casteism and manufactured threats of
domination of upper classes.
In the first instance, the “Great Indian Middle Class” is voluntarily
opting out of the electoral process by their laziness; in the second
instance this vital 30% of India’s population is deliberately being
marginalized and excluded from the electoral process by a large chunk of
India’s political parties who fearful of the potential political
weightage that India’s “Great Indian Middle Class” could bring into
play, craft their political policies to sway the Indian Muslim and Dalit
vote banks ,confident that they could come into power on the strength of
this combination without an outreach to the educated classes.
In broad arithmetical terms Indian Governments have come into power at
the Centre with just about 33-40% of the electoral vote. If this figure
is broken down, it roughly translates in terms of composition to a
combination of 13-15% Indian Muslim votes and 20-25% of the Dalit etc
votes. Both these segments seem to vote en-bloc as captive vote banks
manipulated by their respective power brokers.
India’s “Great Indian Middle Class” should open their eyes and realize
how much of a potent political force they can emerge with their 30%
voting strength. It could greatly neutralize the strength of the present
captive vote banks of the Indian Muslims and Dalits etc. The “Great
Indian Middle Class” by their active participation in the electoral
process could counter-balance the strength of the other existing
combination. In the process they could contribute to bringing into
political power a better class of politicians and a higher class of
political leaders with vision and integrity. It would also ensure that
the weakest indicator of India’s national strengths in risk forecasting
by foreign investors, that is weak political governance, would be
eliminated.
It is a pity that in the present political system existing, the
compulsions of political survival, force even upright people like Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh to resort to petty politicking like including
tainted Ministers in his Cabinet; adopting patently communal policies to
appease Indian Muslim vote banks; and even compromising national
security by doing away Anti-Terrorism Laws impelled by the same
pressures.
In view of the above, it becomes incumbent on every patriotic member of
the “Great Indian Middle Class” to actively vote in every election
irrespective of the discomfort entailed in moving out of their
comfortable homes. They could decisively change India’s political
dynamics and bring in a better class of political leadership and give
greater impetus to India’s ascendant curve.
The Indian NRI’s could also contribute in a meaningful manner to bring
about a political awareness in the “Great Indian Middle Class” by
bombarding their
relatives, friends and colleagues in India by e-mails on the eve of
elections to go out and vote on election day. They have vast resources,
both financial and technical, to organize sustained campaigns, towards
such political awareness.
The “Great Indian Middle Class” constantly complains that India’s
political parties and their leaders are corrupt and that political
governance is unprincipled and relying on communal , casteist and
criminal elements. They need to remember what Abraham Lincoln said, that
: “ A Nation Gets the Government it Deserves”.
If the “Great Indian Middle Class” sincerely believes that India
deserves a better Government and better political governance then it is
high time that they politically empower themselves.
March 12,
2006
Image : Adaptation of Uday's
Cartoon in IndiaTimes
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PlainSpeak
The Week of March 12, 2006
Global
Democracy: India, not America, Should Take Lead by Rajinder Puri
Not Again! Mr. Advani by Usha Kakkar
The 'Great Indian Middle Class" Needs to
... by Dr. Subhash Kapila
US History - Lesser Known
Facts, Analogies & Surmises Part 5 by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Zahira Sheikh vs Jessica Lal by Usha
Kakkar
Respect All, Shun Casteism by Naira
Yaqoob
Flex and Stretch Yourself to Good
Health by Rajgopal Nidamboor
Homeopathy
and Toxic Exposure by Dr. Muneeb Faraaz
A Dialogue with Victoria Valentine
by Dr. Amitabh Mitra
Is Human Life Complete Without
Poetry? by TA Ramesh
Urvashi: The Poetry of Love's Victory
by Suniti Chandra Mishra
Concepts Immaculate by J. Ajith Kumar
A Tribute to Geeta and Guru Dutt by MH Ahsan
Aarti Agarwal – Alone in a Crowd by MH Ahsan
How to Celebrate
Holi with Kids by Garima Gupta
Tugging Ear Infections by Dr. Muneeb
Faraaz
A Moment Called Death by PGR Nair
Far Horizon by Dhiraj Bhimji Raniga
Fathers and Princesses by Monisha Sen
Helping with the Basics by Susan Philip
What Women Want by Stephanie Hiller
When Scarf and Jacket Talk by Naunidhi
Kaur
Opening Windows of Learning: A feature
on Nasreen Awan from Pakistan
Vastu Purush Mandala: Home Design and
Happiness by Niranjan Babu Bangalore
Methodology and Effects of Mercury in
Various Houses by Dr. Shanker Adawal
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