THE INDIAN MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY

'Middle Class' is an interesting word. People belonging to this stratum of society are so heterogeneous that many would even agree that they don't even belong to single class. A bureaucrat, a skilled workman, an entrepreneur, an emerging artist, a doctor and so on, each one of them claim to belong the ubiquitous middle class family. To reposition these heterogeneous members, concepts like 'upper' and 'lower' middle class were also introduced, but they are also equally volatile as the concept middle class itself. Some project middle class as the torchbearer of social innovations and change, while others blame it as an inward looking group always preoccupied with its own trifling issues. Demographers see a burgeoning middle class as potential future labor force, while the industry looks upon it as a profitable consumer base. Middle class imagination is far more diverse today than it was a couple of decades back when a typical family with a scooter was a poster child of the Indian middle class.

LAND and DEVELOPMENT CONUNDRUM

 

Development is a relatively simple sounding word, but is very difficult to define. Fallout of past developmental models have shown that how wrong we have been in the understanding of this word. However, whatever be the definition, it entails one irreplaceable ingredient – land. From housing to infrastructure, from schools to research parks, everything needs land. In India, land is not only an economic entity, but also has cultural and social significance attached to it. For a significant chunk of population, it is the only means of livelihood. However, historically the process of land acquisition process has been carried out in a sub-optimal manner. The benefits which accrued from the land were shared in an inequitable manner with the original right holders. Worst sufferers of this process were those like tribal people of India who had the least capacity to raise their voices. This further skewed the socio-economic scenario, especially in the context of rural-urban development. The new Land Acquisition Act of 2013 is a right step to correct some of the defects of the earlier legislation, but still a lot more needs to be done.