Dilemma of Participation of Middle Class in Indian Democracy
| Published date | 01 March 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561231204933 |
| Author | Siddhi Nigam |
| Date | 01 March 2024 |
Dilemma of
Participation of
Middle Class in
Indian Democracy
Siddhi Nigam1
Abstract
Indian electorate consists of a heterogeneous mix of classes, castes, regions,
linguistic and religious groups. In this set of multifarious sub-groups, continuously
striving for their due shares in the developmental process and democratic system,
the existence of the middle class is likely to thoroughly get diluted, whether it
be in the political manifestos and government schemes. On the other hand, it
is alleged that this class itself does not actively participate either in democracy
or developmental process. This article aims to examine whether this impugned
class is actually demotivated to participate or in general dormant in the matters
of democracy. An analysis of research papers, reports and articles has been done
to examine this dilemma along with analysing the reasons and dynamics of this
dormancy from multiple perspectives. The article concludes that there is a rise
of a ‘New middle-class’ in the present era which seeks to actively take part in
democracy and in the course of time, a considerable number of people from
the middle class have started voting prudently, ignoring the mere short-term
benefits or social divisions which earlier used to be the prime guiding forces for
them. Therefore, the article prompts plausible policy and legislative decisions
on matters such as health, education and employment, which will persuade the
middle class to actively engage and create an inclusive democracy.
Keywords
Middle class, democracy, political parties, public policy, India
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
70(1) 44–54, 2024
© 2023 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561231204933
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1 Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Corresponding author:
Siddhi Nigam, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Maharashtra 411014, India.
E-mail: Siddhi.nigam@gmail.com
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