How the other half lives

Despite received wisdom, Indian middle-class interests overlap with those of the rural and urban poor.

The Tata Motors standoff in Singur is only the latest of many conflicts over land use and the direction of India8217;s economic growth. Goa8217;s rollback of SEZs in the state, and the violence in Nandigram last year reenacted similar narratives and provoked large questions about the direction of economic development in India. Supporters of SEZs argue that they help economic growth and provide employment opportunities and conflict over SEZs is sometimes viewed simply as opposition driven by activists opposed to economic growth. However, when the establishment of SEZs fail to consider the interests of local residents or has sufficient democratic accountability, they raise critical issues about the managing of India8217;s economic growth 8212; a question as important for the interests of India8217;s middle classes as for those whose livelihoods are directly affected by SEZs.

Middle class interests are now generally associated with expanding opportunities for employment and consumption created by economic reform. Many factors contribute to this association between India8217;s middle classes and the benefits of economic reform. These factors include sharp rises in incomes in some sectors of middle class employment, new consumption opportunities, new lifestyles and ongoing talk of the growing size of India8217;s middle classes sometimes estimated as high as 350 million strong. Given this economic success, sustainable development has seemed to be a low priority for the middle classes, but is increasingly an issue of concern for activists and marginalised groups whose livelihoods are jeopardised by economic growth.

There now seem to be two economic languages for two different faces of India. The language celebrating economic growth and consumption addresses the expanding middle classes. The language of sustainable development and livelihood rights is used for marginalised communities.

In reality, there is much more shared ground between the interests of the middle classes and less privileged citizens. Large sections of India8217;s middle classes do not reflect stereotypes of elite lifestyles and consumerism. Middle class individuals struggle with the everyday strains on infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water. Many sections of the middle class must battle with growing competition for access to suitable educational credentials that can provide an entryway to employment. Meanwhile, inflationary trends also put pressure on middle class households. If we dispense with stereotypes about middle class elitism, we are left with a more complicated picture of a middle class struggling for a livable future.

The challenge that lies ahead is in finding common interests between middle class livability and the livelihood needs of the urban and rural poor. In recent times, urban redevelopment plans have often intensified the divide between the middle classes and urban poor. Urban developers have focused on removing squatters and poorer communities occupying land and forged alliances with middle class groups concerned about neighborhood improvement. Like conflicts over SEZs, poor communities become opponents of this development. Yet middle class interests are fundamentally tied to those of poorer communities. Economic growth that does not integrate the livelihood needs of the urban and rural poor produces social unrest and instability. Crime also becomes an alternative economic strategy in such circumstances. These negative consequences undermine the security of middle class life promised by growth in the first place. Such problems are not unique to India. Cities in areas ranging from East Asia to Latin America are experiencing similar challenges. Such cases have shown that a growing divide between the middle classes and marginalised social groups has made middle class life more difficult. A city like Sao Paulo, for instance, has seen middle class life restricted to gated communities or households hiring private security forces for protection.

Seen in this light, sustainable development is a middle class issue. Sustainability does not have to block growth. Controversies over SEZs in rural areas and urban development in cities are conflicts over whether economic growth is being managed in ways that can allow different social groups to sustain their lifestyles and livelihoods. Both the middle classes and the working poor have an interest in creating livable futures. Both have an interest in holding government officials and elites accountable for managing India8217;s growth in sustainable ways. The task of implementing this common vision of a livable future is certainly daunting. But it is a challenge that will continue to arise, given the vast economic changes ahead.

The writer is a professor of political science at Rutgers University and the author of 8216;India8217;s New Middle Class: Democratic Politics in an Era of Economic Reform8217;