Culture and Privilege in Capitalist Asia - Jurusan Antropologi ...

INDIAN MIDDLE-CLASS IDENTITY 259
The exclusion of lower-income earners from wider ownership of
more expensive commodities is highly significant in terms of identity. According to
McCarthy (1994:121), for example, the ownership of a motor-scooter symbolises
mobility from lower-class status to middle-class status. I would argue that with the
progression of liberalisation and incomes, the motor car is increasingly overtaking
the scooter as the marker of middle-class status, at least in the major metropolitan
centres. 9 Whilst lower-class people aspire to the ownership of middle-class status
symbol consumer goods, and a better education for their children, they find it
difficult to engage in middle-class consumption because it stretches their relatively
small resources, and the ‘ultimate symbol of distinction’ amongst the middle class,
which is overseas travel, is well beyond their means (McCarthy 1994:120—2). The
former are, therefore, confined to emulating middle-class consumption through the
consumption of inferior copies (McCarthy 1994:46).
Access to good education, which is a most important channel for economic
mobility and entree to global opportunities, is certainly beyond the means of the
lower classes. Entry to prestigious schools and universities is highly sought after by
the middle class, and stories of big donations to top schools to secure a place for
children from middle-class families are common knowledge. Middle-class parents
send their children to public schools or convent/mission schools where the medium
of instruction is English, whereas others who cannot afford to pay the high fees
resort to government schools where students are instructed in the vernacular. 10 An
overseas university education for those who either do not manage to secure a
place at a prestigious Indian university or prefer a foreign degree, is increasingly
popular. The demand from Indian students for postgraduate business and
information technology courses at, for example, Australian universities is rising. By
seeking overseas education, especially in Western countries, Indian students are
also cultivating an international professional identity which provides them with
access to business and professional opportunities globally. Those who secure
overseas professional employment and residency further enhance their status
amongst the middle class at home because they are now more ‘marketable’
marriage partners, as is evident from matrimonial advertisements which boast
possession of a green card (US residency) or, in some instances, solicit partners
who have already acquired one. Like the motor car and other global commodities,
a foreign education and residency are prime markers of identity. 11 In a culture
where family bonds are still strong, those who have acquired foreign residency and
an overseas job (especially in the USA or elsewhere in the West) are engaged in a
process of economic and social mobility not only for themselves but also for their
families in India.
The intense competition for jobs in an expanding labour force has also put a
premium on the acquisition of higher education in middle-class families.
Consequently, gaining multiple degrees is an additional advantage. In many cases
the proliferation and professionalisation of occupations has increased the need for
qualifications and higher education. Socially, amongst the middle class, education
has now become an important requirement for a boy to find an educated partner,