Silence of the Middle Class Inexplicable

 

 

 

 

 

Silence of the Middle Class Inexplicable

That Narendra Modi’s  management of mainstream media and social media-the primary consumers of which is the middle class-  played a key role in his emphatic victories is a foregone conclusion. The electoral results of 2014 and 2019 changed the way India imagines itself and how the rest of the world sees India today.

Bryn Rosenfeld in her book The Autocratic Middle Class offers an interesting analysis of how the middle class economic dependence on the state impedes democratisation and contributes to authoritarian resilience. She debunks the theory that prosperity strengthen the middle class, and that a strong middle class paves the way for democracy- the conventional wisdom from Aristotle to modern times. She argues that when governments pursue top-down strategies of economic modernization, the middle class overwhelmingly owes its upward mobility to the state and is left dependent on the regime for prosperity. The middle class and the authoritarian regimes complement each other. And the ‘autocratic middle class’ is hesitant to embrace democracy openly, as it benefits from autocratic stability, seeking to protect its own position and privileges, instead of protecting individual rights.

Though the book focuses on post-communist autocracies, its arguments have implications for understanding the erosion of democracy in democratic countries like India and the US as could be seen under Modi and Trump.  For the decline of democracy and democratic institutions in Indian the middle class cannot shirk its share of responsibility. The middle class is timid and afraid of speaking truth to make authorities accountable. The instinct of self survival and its conservative and fundamental religious beliefs, though it may appear modern outwardly, make the middle class endorse authoritarian regimes. The middle class supports strong authoritarian leaders, just as the people in totalitarian states like China do, out of fear. Take for instance, the ‘jungle raj’ in the most populous state of Indian Union, UP, doesn’t invoke any angry reaction from the urban middle class.

In fact, the vast majority of educated middle class has abandoned the obligations of responsible citizenry. Nothing touches the middle class-the shocking demonetisation; the hasty implementation of GST; the downsizing of J&K and shutting down of all its commutation channels; the devastating country-wide lockdown ,without notice, that caused unending misery and suffering, particularly to the floating migrant workers; the protests against the discriminatory CAA-NRC by the affected marginalized sections; the indiscriminate invoking of the draconian laws -UAPA,NSA and the Sedition- to harass and silence the critics of the government; the game of toppling the elected governments  through money and mussel power; the systematic erosion of public institutions; the  misusing of central investigating agencies against opposition leaders for political reasons; the mob lynching  by cow vigilantes; the rape and murders of helpless women and girls; the farmers protests against  the arbitrary imposition of farm laws ; the  divisive and communal politics that polarizes the society; the mishandling of corona pandemic that resulted in lakhs of deaths; the  sky racketing fuel prices and the death  of an 84 year old priest- a tribal rights activist- in judicial custody and so on. All this does not bother the educated elite. .

The middle class prefers a studied silence, more interested in safeguarding its cozy life style, indifferent and unconcerned about the nation’s state of affairs and the plight of the poor and under privileged.  If only the middle class had spoken, the political situation in the country would not have become so volatile. The characteristic of an open society is speaking against misuse of power by persons in positions of power and authority. As Prashant Bhushan says, though the pandemic is a problems, there are more serious problems than the pandemic facing the country, which are not addressed and instead all sorts of restrictions are imposed to prevent the people from airing their grievances. A section of the middle class- the academic community- abdicated its responsibility of protesting against the police atrocities committed against the students in the university campuses- JNU, AMU, Delhi etc- the intellectuals, the social and the political activists.

In contrast, the middle class in America became very vocal after the murder of George Floyd last year. America saw the largest anti-racism movement the Black Lives Matter. And the Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who murdered him, was put on public trial, convicted and sentenced to more than 20 years imprisonment in a quick disposal of justice. In India, we cannot imagine such thing happening. As the Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It is high time the middle class and the civil society raised their voice against the abuse of power and assault on citizens’ rights. The governments come and go, but it is the people who are expected to defend and preserve the values enshrined in the constitution. As the saying goes, “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”  The larger national interest should override the narrow sectarian loyalty. And on the question of truth and justice and right and wrong one cannot remain neutral.