Wednesday, January 07, 2004

SOCIETY : Dost ka dost, dost; dost ka dushman, dushman

Though I don't always appreciate Vir Sanghvi's writings, he has made some telling statements in his editorial - "Middle Class vs Political Class". Sanghvi makes the following observations in his perception of the growing discontent between the middle and the political classes -

Middle class frustration with politicians has got to the stage where anybody who kicks them around becomes an icon.

Obviously this is not a good thing. For a start, any crooked bureaucrat, corrupt charlatan or publicity-hound can cast himself as a martyr by going to the press and claiming that he has been victimised by politicians.

More significantly, if the most important development in India over the last decades has been the emergence of the middle class, then it is a matter of profound concern that this class has such contempt for politicians that it cheers anyone who bashes them.

This is true, and all the more so in the blog-world which can be considered a representative of the younger middle-class which is emerging in India.
The vice-versa was true in the US where any middle-class blogger who stood up for the politicians during the build-up to the Iraq war and the "war on terror" was instantly hailed as a national treasure.
Admittedly, there is a lot wrong with the Indian political and social scenario to keep the pages of a blog filled. It has been an oft debated topic, the widening chasm between India's social reforms and India's economic reforms.
What is not covered, is things that could be done to fill that ever widening chasm. And that is the main reason behind my even-flagging interest in blogging.

Disclaimer: The concept of the post title has been plagiarised from ASHIFICATION.

link | |