Who exactly are the middle classes in India? What role do they play in contemporary Indian politics and society, and what are their historical and cultural moorings? The authors of this volume argue that the middle class has largely been understood as an ‘income/ economic category’, but the term has a broader social and conceptual history, globally as well as in India. To begin with, the middle class is not a homogeneous category but is shaped by specific colonial and post-colonial experiences and is differentiated by caste, ethnicity, region, religion, and gender locations. These socio-economic differentiations shape its politics and culture and become the basis of internal conflicts, contestations, and divergent political worldviews. The authors demonstrate how the middle class has acquired a certain legitimacy to speak on behalf of the society as a whole, despite its politics being inherently exclusionary, as it tries to protect its own interests. Further, perceived as an aspirational category, the middle class has a seductive charm for the lower classes, who struggle to shift to this ever elusive social location.

[An] Erudite, Thoughtful, Perceptive And Elegantly Written Study -Hindustan Times In This Powerful And Insightful Critique, The Author Examines The Evolution Of The Indian Middle Class During The Twentieth Century, Especially Since Independence. He Shows Us How The Middle Class, Guided By Self-Interest, Is Becoming Increasingly Insensitive To The Plight Of The Underprivileged, And How Economic Liberalization Has Only Heightened Its Tendency To Withdraw From Anything That Does Not Relate Directly To Its Material Well-Being. An Essential Read, This Fresh Edition Updated With A New Introduction Analyses The Transformation Of The Middle Class In The Decade Since 1997 And Seeks To Reconcile The Seemingly Dichotomous Aspects Of Our Economy And Polity.

This book critically examines the new middle class and the emergence of neo-urban spaces in India within the context of rapid urbanisation and changing socio-spatial dynamics in urban areas in the country. It looks at class as a socio-spatial category where class distinction is tied to and manifests itself through the space of the city. With a detailed ethnographic study of the national capital region of Delhi, especially Gurugram, it explores themes such as class subjectivity, morality and social beliefs; life inside gated enclaves; family and everyday practices of class reproduction; and the process of othering and exclusivity, among others. Class identity, vulnerability and hierarchy influence the actions and motivations of the middle class. The author studies the nuances and socio-political fractures stemming from the complex dynamic of class, caste, religion and gender that manifest in these neo-urban spaces and how these shape the city and community. Rich in empirical resources, this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of sociology, political sociology, ethnography, urban sociology, urban studies and South Asian studies.

Dive into the intricate world of the Indian middle class with this comprehensive analysis, exploring its economic status, social dynamics, cultural influences, and aspirations. From its historical evolution to its current challenges and future prospects, this exploration provides a nuanced understanding of one of India's most significant socio-economic groups. Discover the economic landscape of the Indian middle class, ranging from varying income levels to the challenges posed by inflation, housing affordability, and the rising costs of education and healthcare. Delve into the social dynamics that shape middle-class life, including the central role of family, the pursuit of education, and the influence of cultural trends and consumer culture.

This volume delves into the study of the world’s emerging middle class. With essays on Europe, the United States, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, the book studies recent trends and developments in middle class evolution at the global, regional, national, and local levels. It reconsiders the conceptualization of the middle class, with a focus on the diversity of middle class formation in different regions and zones of world society. It also explores middle class lifestyles and everyday experiences, including experiences of social mobility, feelings of insecurity and anxiety, and even middle class engagement with social activism. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews, the book provides a sophisticated analysis of this new and rapidly expanding socioeconomic group and puts forth some provocative ideas for intellectual and policy debates. It will be of importance to students and researchers of sociology, economics, development studies, political studies, Latin American studies, and Asian Studies.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Post-liberalisation India has witnessed a dramatic growth of the television industry as well as on-screen images of the glitz and glamour of a vibrant, ‘shining’ India. Through a detailed ethnographic study of Star News and Star Ananda involving interviews, observations and content analysis, this book explores the milieu of 24-hour private news channels in India today. It offers insightful glimpses into the workings of one of the mightiest news corporations in the world and its ability to manufacture everyday reality for its audiences. Based on fieldwork in Mumbai and Kolkata, this study not only provides a detailed description of the television newsroom, its rituals and rhythms, but ventures beyond it to investigate how editorial and corporate strategies converge increasingly in an industry driven by profit. Through analysing how TRPs work to produce a non-inclusive idea of the ‘audience’ and examining hundreds of hours of news content, the book explores how news channels construct a vision of nationhood and of a successful and vibrant economy that caters primarily to the needs of the resurgent Indian middle class. While it will be of particular interest to media and cultural studies scholars and students, and to journalists and media professionals in general, this lively, engaging book also aims to give the general reader the wherewithal to analyse and critique the continuous barrage of 24-hour news television today.

India is the second largest country in the world with regard to population, the world’s largest democracy and by far the largest country in South Asia, and one of the most diverse and pluralistic nations in the world in terms of official languages, cultures, religions and social identities. Indians have for centuries exchanged ideas with other cultures globally and some traditions have been transformed in those transnational and transcultural encounters and become successful innovations with an extraordinary global popularity. India is an emerging global power in terms of economy, but in spite of India’s impressive economic growth over the last decades, some of the most serious problems of Indian society such as poverty, repression of women, inequality both in terms of living conditions and of opportunities such as access to education, employment, and the economic resources of the state persist and do not seem to go away. This Handbook contains chapters by the field’s foremost scholars dealing with fundamental issues in India’s current cultural and social transformation and concentrates on India as it emerged after the economic reforms and the new economic policy of the 1980s and 1990s and as it develops in the twenty-first century. Following an introduction by the editor, the book is divided into five parts: Part I: Foundation Part II: India and the world Part III: Society, class, caste and gender Part IV: Religion and diversity Part V: Cultural change and innovations Exploring the cultural changes and innovations relating a number of contexts in contemporary India, this Handbook is essential reading for students and scholars interested in Indian and South Asian culture, politics and society. Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Have neoliberal policies truly yielded beneficial effects for India? ‘Two Decades of Market Reform in India’ presents a collection of essays that challenge the conventional wisdom of Indian market reforms, examining the effects of neoliberal policies enacted by the Indian government and exploding the myths that surround them. In particular, the volume questions the perceived benefits of India’s reform policies in the areas of growth, agriculture, industry and poverty alleviation, and examines how the government’s focus on preventing a fiscal deficit caused a large-scale decline in development expenditures, which in turn has had a negative impact on the well-being of the poor. With its rich and insightful analysis, ‘Two Decades of Market Reform in India’ bravely shines a light on the true implications of India’s neoliberal governmental policies, and provides a revealing indication of how policy reform since 1991 has, at times, detrimentally affected the general populace of India.

Examines the colonial and postcolonial governance of gender and sexuality through the history of transgender Hijras in north India.