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

INDIAN MIDDLE-CLASS IDENTITY 269
the post-colonial middle class are increasingly characterised by religious
nationalism.
Ironically, perhaps this shift is reinforced by the experience of globalisation
among diasporic Indians. In the West, globalisation has led to greater ethnic
diversity and, according to some commentators, an attempt by metropolitan
peoples to come to terms with, or ‘tolerate’, the cultural differences within their
countries (Featherstone 1993:174). The perception of diasporic peoples of such
tolerance may, however, vary considerably. Experiences of middle-class Indians in
the West are replete with examples of covert and overt discrimination, and a sense
of cultural displacement arising from their representations as Other in their
countries of adoption. Thus cultural differences in the metropolitan countries often
contribute to cultural and religious nationalism amongst sections of the migrant
population whose transnational identities in turn impact upon the politics of both
their adopted and home countries. Middle-class and non-middle-class diasporic
Indians (Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and others) are prone to appeals of cultural and
religious nationalism. Thus Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses created a political
furore and agitated some Muslims not only in Britain but also on the Indian
subcontinent. In India it stirred political controversy which led the government to
ban the book there against the opinion of those in the country who believed that
the ban breached the principles of secularism. Others, notably Hindu nationalists,
interpreted the ban as an indication of the appeasement of minorities, namely the
Muslims. Globalisation in this instance is implicated in the process of cultural and
political fragmentation rather than homogenisation.
However, the experiences of the Indian middle class, both in India and overseas,
are in some ways contradictory and do not necessarily lead to cultural chauvinism
or religious nationalism. Support for the BJP and Hindutva is by no means
unanimous among the middle-class Hindus. Indeed, the allegiance of the middle
class is being contested by both the religious nationalists and secular-minded
organisations. Thus secular-minded middle-class Hindus and Muslims in India, and
elsewhere, have actively attempted to promote secular views and heal the sectarian
rift. This is so in Australia, Canada, and the USA (Radhakrishnan 1996:212), and
probably in some other countries too. Middle-class identity, therefore, is strongly
contested as are other cultural spheres in India (Appadurai and Breckenridge 1995:
6—7).
CONCLUSION
The growth of the middle class in India is integral to state-sponsored development.
Through the provision of higher public education, and positions in the
administrative services and state-owned enterprises, the Indian state has opened
up major channels for social mobility and the growth of the middle class. Through
support for small-scale industries, the state has also played a major role in giving
rise to a class of new entrepreneurs. The limits of state-sponsored development,
however, paved the way for economic liberalisation and globalisa tion. The