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

264 SALIM LAKHA
Even when families or individuals emigrate to Western countries, there may be
little or no concession to the dominant Western culture in matters of
dress. Needless to say Muslim women do not necessarily refrain from the
consumption of other global commodities.
Whilst the appeal of Western fashion against traditional (or modern-cumtraditional)
Indian fashion designs may still be limited, in other spheres, such as
communications, the corporate imperatives exert stronger pressures to adopt
Western/global practices. The spread of fax machines and mobile phones in
major cities is gradually expanding. As in the advanced countries the mobile phone
is a combination of status symbol, useful communications gadget and public
nuisance (Chandra and Agarwal 1996:94—5).
In the context of India’s multicultural milieu, homogenised descriptions or
explanations of middle-class consumption are unsatisfactory. Through
liberalisation and associated globalisation, consumerism and the flow of global
commodities are spreading rapidly in India, but middle-class consumption is
mediated through local culture. Culturally the middle class is distinguished from the
lower classes by the consumption of expensive, global commodities which serve as
powerful status markers, but such consumption also defers to local conditions. The
impact of globalisation on consumption is aptly summed up by one report which
claimed: ‘The new lifestyles–and the accompanying music, art and clothes–are all
decidedly international, but with a distinctive Indian touch’ (Asia Week 1995b:40).
CONSTRUCTIONS OF MIDDLE-CLASS STATUS
AND MIDDLE-CLASS IDENTITY
Consumerism and the consumption of global commodities are important in
defining the cultural identity of the middle class. However, the existence of caste,
religious and regional differentiation cautions against any homogenising attempts
to characterise Indian middle-class identity in reference to consumption. The
tendency by foreign and Indian media, as well as official experts, to define the middle
class in terms of economic criteria and psychological motivations is also of limited
analytical value as explained below. However, a discussion of these definitions is of
some value in revealing how the middle class is constructed and portrayed in India
and overseas.
Economic constructions of the middle class are most evident in journalistic and
government reports, both in India and overseas. Sheridan (1995), in his report on
India, delineates the middle class on the basis of discretionary income available
from annual earnings. Similarly, an Indian-government-funded organisation, The
National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), estimated the size of
the middle class based on the level of income (Kulkarni 1993:46). 18 The argument
in favour of income-based assessment is justified on the grounds that the diverse
character of the middle class, which includes ‘small businessmen, executives,
professionals, white-and blue-collar workers and land-owning farmers’, makes it
difficult to define it on the bases of consumption and lifestyle (Kulkarni 1993:45).