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

INDIAN MIDDLE-CLASS IDENTITY 261
not even consume local ice cream but only consumed Baskin-Robbins ice cream
because they were so hooked on Western consumerism. This Westernisation is
also observed with reference to language since the command of younger middleclass
people over Hindi (a language common to north India) is weak compared to
the older generation’s. The tendency of some amongst them to mix English words
when speaking Hindi is derisively referred to as ‘Hinglish’ by critics of
Westernisation. Whereas the old bourgeoisie grew up with a sense of nationalism
and was inclined to value the icons of Indian culture, the middle class or new rich
today are less acquainted with traditional literature. The former were well versed in
both the vernacular and English, but the latter are less fluent with the vernacular
languages.
Because of its consumerism, the middle class is widely characterised as being
excessively materialistic. Middle-class people are viewed as being money-conscious
and only interested in someone if they have money. An expatriate Indian middleclass
academic friend from Calcutta once remarked that the concept of service to
society, associated with his father’s generation, had given way with the new
generation who were more individualistic. Certainly, the ideal of self-sacrifice and
service set by Mahatma Gandhi is now confined to only small sections of the
population. One informant observed that since liberalisation consumerism had
risen dramatically with some among the middle class flaunting their new-found
wealth without reservation. 13 Another claimed that liberalisation had benefited
banias or businessmen and it had led to ‘bania raj’. It had, he said, promoted ‘taraju
raj’ (taraju in Hindi means scales), which was meant as a metaphor for the primacy
accorded to economic/monetary considerations. An extreme and perverse
manifestation of such materialism was noted in reports relating to sectarian/
religious violence in Surat in December 1992 and January 1993 after the
demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya in early December 1992 by Hindu
extremists. It is claimed that some middle-class Hindus participated in the looting of
Muslim shops during the riots in Surat and that these people were seen driving
away with various items of clothing, footwear and jewellery in their Maruti cars (a
distinctive status symbol of the middle class) (Chandra 1996:85). Such incidents
are certainly not a generalised reflection of the middle class, and the actual
numbers involved may have been small, but they serve to illustrate a kind of
acquisitive middle-class behaviour which is unprecedented during such sectarian
conflicts.
Whilst global consumer icons and Western-style consumerism are on the rise, it
would be simplistic to view their spread as representing the homogenisation of
culture in India. Middle-class consumption of commodities is shaped by local
contexts, and local cultural/social conditions continue to exert their influence in the
face of global commodities and global media images and themes. Thus McCarthy
in his study of middle-class families notes that status symbols like microwaves and
vacuum cleaners acquired by some middle-class households remained unused
because their domestic helpers viewed them as a threat to their skills and labour
and thus resented their use (1994:123). 14 He explains that despite middle-class