There are two words in the title that needs to be first defined to understand the topic: Middle and Class in regard to the country India. Class refers to a group of people of similar social status having similar income and similar lifestyles. The middle class is the social status that is positioned between lower and upper classes. It includes small businessmen, professionals, doctors, lawyers, etc along with their families. These people make up the majority of the population and have been overlooked by historians. The Marxist definition states that class is defined by three components: economic, social and political. The economic definition deals with income, wealth, property etc., the social definition takes into account the lifestyles, consumption …show more content…
The middle class is a loose term, and the Marxist theory doesn’t classify it properly, but nonetheless, it is a desirable social standing where people who are ineligible wish to be included. This is evidence for the importance of the middle class in history. The middle class is the most dependent on social constructs such as caste and region and social competence such as education and language skills. They also propagate ideologies provided by the elite. Some of these attributes can be handed over from person to person or inherited, whereas the skills have to be learned. This class has different ideologies, beliefs, and stereotypes depending on the constructs and competence of the …show more content…
During the British rule, there was a stringent economic situation due to taxes and policies set by the rulers. After the colonial struggle, the intermediate classes, namely the middle class, became stronger as the industrial and agricultural classes fell because of the harsh conditions during the rule. Additionally, during the freedom struggle, the leaders who stood associated themselves with the middle class despite being in the upper class. However, this allowed the actual middle class to rise up and take the new found power. Also, after independence, during the Nehruvian era, the main focus was development. The development would require technical expertise and skilled workers. The upper class did not have the skills to take on the task and therefore was given to the middle class. This gave the opportunity to the middle class to establish