THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April 11, 1964

The Middle Class in India

Karuna Chanana

The Indian Middle Classes : Their Growth in Modem Times by B B Misra; Oxford University Press, 1963.
Price Rs 25,

T H E c r u c i a l role o f the m i d d l e class of merchants organized in L i t e r a r y classes were i g n o r a n t of

class in a d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r y g u i l d s , a class of m i d d l e - m e n a n d crafts and trade. T h u s occupa-
make it an i m p o r t a n t area of study also a developed money economy) tional specialization depended on
for the h i s t o r i a n , economist and were present in this era, the p o l i - inherited occupations a n d could
sociologist. Dr M i s r a ' s book is the tical and social systems were not be adopted by the other castes.
first f u l l - l e n g t h study of the I n d i a n against c a p i t a l i s m and hindered T h a t is w h y l i m i t e d education was
m i d d l e class on an a l l - I n d i a basis. the g r o w t h of the m i d d l e class. T h e a handicap. As such there was no
H e r e I s h a l l first summarise the k i n g was an absolute despot and incentive f o r improvement or for
m a i n points made in the book and monopolized any p r o f i t a b l e sphere the expansion of the existing trade
then discuss certain issues w h i c h I o f t r a d e . ( S o people d i d not invest and i n d u s t r y .
consider i m p o r t a n t . t h e i r money i n trade. The b u l l i o n
M i s r a traces the g r o w t h of the i n I n d i a remained stocked i n houses. The second p a r t of the book deals
Indian middle-classes, i e, "the I t was not utilized in productive w i t h the changes b r o u g h t about by
class of people w h i c h arose as a investment thereby p r e v e n t i n g the a c e n t u r y of East I n d i a Company's
result of changes in the B r i t i s h circulation of w e a l t h w h i c h was r u l e w h i c h set free the process of
social p o l i c y and w i t h the i n t r o - essential f o r c a p i t a l i s t g r o w t h . T h e the g r o w t h o f the I n d i a n m i d d l e -
d u c t i o n of the new economic sys- k i n g , who c o u l d u t i l i z e his w e a l t h class w i t h the advent of p o l i t i c a l
t e m and i n d u s t r y and w i t h the sub- i n p r o d u c t i v e investment, spent i t s t a b i l i t y , contractual relations. Cus-
sequent g r o w t h of new professions", m a i n l y for his personal comforts. t o m was replaced b y l a w . T h e B r i -
f r o m about the m i d d l e of the tish b r o u g h t w i t h t h e m a p o l i t i c a l
Caste System and economic organisation based
eighteenth century to modern times.
He frequently refers to the situa- The caste system hampered occu- o n r a t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h ignor-
t i o n before the B r i t i s h r u l e (under pational m o b i l i t y and technological ed caste distinctions. Caste was
the M u g h a l E m p i r e ) for the sake change. T h e priest and the k i n g i g n o r e d by the system of Western
of c o m p a r i s o n . or the w a r r i o r caste l o o k e d d o w n education as w e l l . Increase in ex-
u p o n trade a n d i n d u s t r y . T h e l o t ternal trade created c a p i t a l re-
The author's chief contention is of the artisan was very poor in sources f o r i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n .
that the factors responsible for the spite of the presence of developed
emergence of the Indian middle The h i g h e r castes were the first
u r b a n i n d u s t r y m a k i n g fabrics and
class were different f r o m those res- to take advantage of the c h a n g i n g
l u x u r y goods w h i c h was based on
ponsible for the emergence of the conditions as they already occupied
small-scale domestic production.
m i d d l e class i n the West. I n the higher t r a d i t i o n a l social, economic
The artisan w o r k e d f o r very l o w
latter case, the m i d d l e class came and p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n . T h e y shifted
wages in the 'karkhanas' monopoliz-
i n t o existence thanks m a i n l y to the to u r b a n centres and received edu-
e d b y the k i n g . T h e b r o k e r w h o
I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n of the eigh- cation. They took to new and
acted as m i d d l e - m a n between the
teenth century w h i c h b r o u g h t about profitable occupations and were
trader and the r u r a l artisan was
large-scale mechanical production l i m i t e d to u r b a n centres especially
interested i n his o w n p r o f i t , not i n
as a result of economic and tech- the i m p r o v e m e n t of the q u a l i t y of to the Presidency towns because of
nological change. The Indian goods. T h e t i l l e r s and owners of the concentration of w e a l t h a n d of
m i d d l e classes emerged due to the the l a n d were not i d e n t i c a l . The educational i n s t i t u t i o n s in those
changes that occurred in the course owners extracted the utmost f r o m towns.
of about 200 years of B r i t i s h r u l e these who t i l l e d the l a n d . Thus The r i s i n g middle-class consisted
l a r g e l y as a result of changes in w e a l t h accumulated o n l y i n the of four categories of people accord-
B r i t i s h l a n d and legal policies h i g h e r levels. L a n d economy and i n g t o the r o l e p l a y e d b y them i n
f o l l o w e d b y the introduction of l i m i t e d education also proved to be the new economy.
Western education and technology, further barriers. Caste was closely ( a ) The c o m m e r c i a l middle-class
m o d e r n capitalist enterprise, of i m - related to the law of p r o p e r t y , of m i d d l e m e n a n d brokers were
proved c o m m u n i c a t i o n s and com- w h i c h encouraged the observance of found w i t h the foreign companies
m e r c i a l progress. P r i m a r i l y , it is caste rules in order to succeed to and in the indigeneous m e r c a n t i l e
an historical sutvey o f Indian one's share in the l a n d . T h u s l a n d and b a n k i n g houses in the latter
m i d d l e class w i t h reference to its economy encouraged caste distinc- part of the eighteenth century. T h e
c o m p o s i t i o n , character a n d role. tions a n d h i n d e r e d the g r o w t h of i n d i g o p l a n t a t i o n s gave rise i n r u r a l
T h e book i s d i v i d e d i n t o f o u r trade, e g, a trader c o u l d not o w n area? to a c l e r i c a l and supervisory
parts. T h e first part deals w i t h l a n d because he belonged to a cer- group of persons and a g r o u p of
the p r e - B r i t i s h era. T h o u g h the tain caste. Moreover, different contractors w h o d i s t r i b u t e d advan-
i n s t i t u t i o n s conducive to c a p i t a l i s t occupational groups h a d k n o w l e d g e ces and s u p p l i e d the plants. M o r e -
g r o w t h (e g, artisan i n d u s t r y , occu- related to t h e i r field o n l y , e g, a over a class of specialists in busi-
pational specialisation, a separate t r a d e r knew c o m m e r c i a l accounts. ness a d m i n i s t r a t i o n grew w i t h the
683
 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April 11, 1964

681
 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April 11, 1964
o p e n i n g up of trade, banks and the a g r i c u l t u r a l produce t o feed B r i - sufficiently dealt w i t h whereas the
m a n a g i n g agency system in 1833. tain's i n d u s t r y . The corporate cha- changes w h i c h were more r a d i c a l
( b ) The money-lenders, the bro- racter of the villages was destroyed and i m p o r t a n t under the B r i t i s h are
kers, the banias, the agents and the by p a r t i t i o n suits as w e l l as f r o m not given in sufficient d e t a i l . A l s o
creditors, i e, the new moneyed the freedom w i t h w h i c h property the most i m p o r t a n t p e r i o d of the
class invested their money in l a n d c o u l d be transferred by sale. The rise of the middle-class and
w h i c h became transferable due to class of salaried employees and i n d u s t r i a l development after 1905,
the B r i t i s h p o l i c y . In addition, money-lenders who invested money which required a detailed dis-
there were people w h o held l a n d i n l a n d grew w i t h the expansion o f cussion, has been given scant
on lease on behalf of the i n d i g o commerce, thus transferring land attention. M i s r a does not even
factory ( f o r before 1830 planters f r o m the c u l t i v a t i n g c o m m u n i t y to attempt to define the t e r m " m i d d l e -
were not p e r m i t t e d to buy lands of the c o m m e r c i a l classes. class'' and his definition of the t e r m
their o w n ) . The recognition o f "social class'' is rather vague be-
The importance of educating
the rights of the under-tenures in cause a l l the three hierarchies of
Indians on a larger scale was rea-
1765 also gave b i r t h to a landed class, status and power have been
lized but due to l i m i t e d funds
middle-class. confused. T h i s happens m a i n l y be-
colleges and schools c o u l d not be
(c) The i n d u s t r i a l m i d d l e class opened in r u r a l areas. T h e y were cause M i s r a tries to evolve a new
was very small because the g r o w t h opened o n l y in the u r b a n centres. terminology.
of industry was very slow. The The rate of progress of higher edu- M a r x defined class in terms of
first to invest money in i n d u s t r y c a t i o n increased in 1880 and the the organisation of p r o d u c t i o n .
were the E n g l i s h C i v i l Servants, following decade. D u r i n g this Ownership or non-ownership of the
f o l l o w e d i n i t i a l l y by other Euro- p e r i o d there was shift of emphasis means of p r o d u c t i o n was the most
peans and then by some Bengalis f r o m higher t o p r i m a r y education i m p o r t a n t c r i t e r i o n u n d e r l y i n g the
in Calcutta and Parsis in Bombay. a n d f r o m urban to r u r a l education. cleavage of societies i n t o classes.
Curzon also saw the need of co- Each g r o u p of men w h o occupied
( d ) The educated m i d d l e class
o r d i n a t i n g technical education w i t h the same p o s i t i o n in the productive
comprised of a class of professio-
i n d u s t r i a l development a n d thus system of relations formed a class.
nals w h i c h emerged w i t h the i n t r o -
technical schools and colleges were T h o u g h M a r x was aware of other
d u c t i o n of Western education and
established. The professional classes aspects of stratification he thought
technology. The changes in the
grew r a p i d l y . The p u b l i c servants that this was the most i m p o r t a n t
system of law gave rise to a class
and men in the l i b e r a l professions one. These economic differences
of lawyers. Then emerged doctors
were m a i n l y h i g h caste people, were then c a r r i e d into every major
and engineers, printers and p u b l i -
especially B r a h m i n s . aspect of social l i f e .
shers. A l l the higher technical and
administrative posts were monopoliz- Weber made a c r u c i a l d i s t i n c t i o n
Educated Middle Class
ed by Europeans and A n g l o - I n d i a n s . between the three orders of stratifi-
The f o u r t h part of the book deals cationclass, status and power. The
The p r i m a r y characteristic of w i t h the p e r i o d after 1905. It is first refers to the groupings of peo-
these four groups f o r m i n g the m a i n l y a discussion of the r o l e of ple according to their market posi-
I n d i a n m i d d l e classes was that they the educated m i d d l e class. Their t i o n . T h o u g h it is s i m i l a r to the class
acquired prestige not through social class-consciousness made them of M a r x , it is different in that it is
status but t h r o u g h education, wealth aware of their interests. They more l i m i t e d and specific. The eco-
and power. opposed any measure in favour of nomic differences are related to the
The t h i r d part of the book deals the peasantry and the working-class other aspects of social life to the
w i t h the further changes brought and favoured only trade and extent that they determine the qua-
about in economic development, industry. l i t v of social honour, i e. prestige.
land p o l i c y . educational p o l i c y The upper m i d d l e class propa- A n d prestige forms the basis of an-
(from 1857 to 1947) w h i c h fur- gated Western ideas and the West- other system of stratification, viz,
thered the g r o w t h of the professio- ern way of l i v i n g and started re- 'status' and not of 'class'. They may
nal classes w i t h the end of the formist movements l i k e the B r a h m o overlap to a considerable extent.
company's rule in 1858. Samaj and the P r a r t h a n a Samaj. P o l i t i c a l power forms the basis of
The author discusses the g r o w t h On the other hand, the lower the t h i r d system of stratification
of foreign trade and j o i n t stock middle-class comprised the dissatis- viz. Party.
companies and Indian-owned banks fied educated people w i t h low i n - M i s r a defines social class as fol-
and m a n u f a c t u r i n g industries under come, who started the revivalist l o w s : " T h e concept of a single so-
the p o l i c y of protection introduced movement of A r y a Samaj w i t h a c i a l class i m p l i e s social d i v i s i o n
in 1923. T h i s economic develop- view to revive the t r a d i t i o n a l r e l i - w h i c h proceeds f r o m the i n e q u a l i -
ment was l i m i t e d l a r g e l y to the gion and ideas in o p p o s i t i o n to ties and differences of man in so-
u r b a n centres. f o r e i g n d o m i n a t i o n , education and ciety, w h i c h may be n a t u r a l or eco-
religion. T h i s class started the n o m i c . It is chiefly the economic in-
F o r m e r l y ( i n 1786-1790) C o r n -
freedom movement and brought e q u a l i t y of man that influences, if
w a l l i s i n c l u d e d o n l y the zamindars
about the Independence of I n d i a . it does not w h o l l y determine, social
in the m i d d l e class, but n o w the
The Congress has been equated w i t h differentiation. ft arises basically
concept of the m i d d l e class i n c l u d e d
l o w e r middle-class, t h o u g h it was f r o m the difference of relationship
a l l the a g r i c u l t u r a l classes (the
backed by u p p e r - m i d d l e class. which a person or a group bears
zamindars, peasant p r o p r i e t o r s and
resident c u l t i v a t o r s ) . At this stage The p r e - B r i t i s h era and the pe- to p r o p e r t y or the means of produc-
l a n d p o l i c y was designed to develop r i o d of East I n d i a C o m p a n y are t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n . " ''This p r i n -

685
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April 11, 1964.

686
 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April 11, 1964

c i p l e of r e l a t i o n s h i p to p r o p e r t y is landowners, government servants, is due to the lack of conceptual defi*

q u a l i t a t i v e i n character i n that i t a n d persons in the l i b e r a l profes- nitions and the reader has to infer
determines the q u a l i t y of social ho- sions have a l l been l u m p e d together. the meaning of these terms by h i m -
nour, or lack of in w h i c h we c a l l On the other hand, the largest a n d self. W h i l e discussing the emergence
'status'," ( p 2 ) , smallest landowners are placed in of the class system in I n d i a he says
other classes, t h o u g h a l l the land- "'land economy and l i m i t e d educa-
Income is o n l y quantitative in
owners stand in a s i m i l a r relation- t i o n were both obstructive to social
character in that it is a means to
ship to the means of p r o d u c t i o n . It stratification"., (p 1 0 ) . W h a t he
the creation of wealth. It becomes
seems that he takes income as the means to say is that the class sys-
q u a l i t a t i v e when invested in land or
u n d e r l y i n g c r i t e r i o n of this classifi- tem, not the caste system, is a sys-
i n d u s t r y , i e, in p r o p e r t y , and thus
cation, not the relationship to the tem of social stratification. T h e lat-
changes the status of an i n d i v i d u a l
means of p r o d u c t i o n . H e r e he uses ter has other aspects too.
or group. Otherwise it merely pro-
the concept of class as evolved by The author has p a i d cursory atten-
duces a h i e r a r c h y of prestige and
W a r n e r , C D H Cole and others. tion to caste, t h o u g h he admits that
power a c c o r d i n g to variations in its
T h i s is also evident in the classifi- it was a very i m p o r t a n t element in
size. M i s r a proceeds further and
cation of the m i d d l e class i n t o two the I n d i a n society. He s h o u l d have
says, "Society is thus d i v i d e d into
sub-classes. T h i s sub-classification is given a regional d i s t r i b u t i o n of the
classes or groups of people joined
based p u r e l y on income. A c c o r d i n g various castes f o r m i n g the so-called
together f r o m motives of common
to M i s r a , the lower-income g r o u p m i d d l e classes and examined them
economic interest, c o m m o n ways of
(pp 366, 393) f o r m the lower-mid- in relation to the new system of
behaviour and c o m m o n traits of cha- dle class.
racter. Each such class forms a hie- classes. hi this context he s h o u l d
rarchy of status according to the Even Warner's concept of class also have treated the g r o w t h of the
is not a p p l i c a b l e here because the m i d d l e class r e g i o n a l l y a n d not con-
v a r y i n g q u a l i t y of social prestige
various groups f o r m i n g M i s r a ' s m i d - sidered a general discussion of its
and power expressed through the
dle class b e l o n g to different castes emergence enough. T h i s w o u l d not
standard of l i v i n g , nature of occu-
and do not even have a c o m m o n have a l l o w e d h i m to i g n o r e the
pation and wealth.'" | p 3 ) .
style o f l i v i n g . B r o a d l y speaking, South, especially Madras Presidency
class and Status
M i s r a ' s contention, that the m i d d l e and Maharashtra, to the extent that
Thus we find that Misra starts by
class has a c o m m o n style of l i v i n g , he has done. He has p a i d more at-
defining social class in relationship
is true to some extent. Hut l o o k i n g tention to Bengal and B i h a r and less
to p r o p e r t y . He admits that income
at the v a r i a t i o n s in customs and attention to Bombay and Western
is merely quantitative in character.
style of l i v i n g of the various castes I P.
He also makes a distinction between
f o r m i n g the m i d d l e class, one is It w o u l d have been interesting to
'class' and 'status'. when he says
b o u n d to doubt the v a l i d i t y of this find out if the caste system was ac-
that social honour is derived f r o m
statement. T h i s is p r i m a r i l y because t u a l l y transformed into the class
the ownership of p r o p e r t y . Rut when
he has not p a i d sufficient attention svstem or the same system was
he goes further he loses sight of the
to caste. transplanted to the u r b a n centres,
d i s t i n c t i o n between the two, and
i m p l y i n g thereby that there was
brings in 'power' under 'status'. He T h o u g h it is not mentioned clear-
l i t t l e change in the caste system.
also includes common ways of be- l y , it may be i n f e r r e d that he takes
Misra has tried to dispose of the
haviour, style of l i v i n g , and com- the members of the I C S, E n g l i s h -
p r o b l e m of the caste-composition
m o n traits of character in the con- men and Europeans o c c u p y i n g se-
merely by stating that the h i g h
cept of 'class'. These two c r i t e r i a n i o r managerial and technical posts
castes formed the middle-class. T h e
u n d e r l y the concept of 'status'. S i m i - and the b i g landowners as the ele-
term "high castes' w i l l not suffice.
l a r l y , he has included ' p o w e r , the ments of the upper class. F u r t h e r he
It is not even clear what exactly he
basis of Weber's concept of Party places the industrialists in the m i d -
means by this term. He classifies
in the concept of "status'. Power' dle class. On what basis does he
Kayasthas both as l o w caste and as
is distinguishable from 'prestige' and classify the industrialists ? Obvious-
h i g h caste, ( p p 53, 322, 3 9 3 ) . T h i s
the t w o are not identical. During ly it is not based on the ownership of
is due to the lack of an adequate
the discussion he also tends to con- the means of p r o d u c t i o n because he
framework w i t h i n w h i c h t o place
fuse the various terms group, cate- excludes the largest landowners. Is
these castes. H i s contention that
gory w i t h class ip 166) and at one it based on income? If it is so,
Brahmins dominated i n a l m o s t a l l
place he even confuses caste and why does he exclude the largest
the regions, especially in South
class (p 1 4 8 ) . landowners. Is he justified in p l a c i n g
I n d i a , is debatable. Nairs a n d Chris-
Talas m the m i d d l e class? M o r e -
L o o k i n g at the heterogeneous tians dominated in Kerala while
over, he equates the r u r a l popula-
c o m p o s i t i o n of Misra's middle-class, Khatris and Aroras dominated in
t i o n w i t h the lower classes w h e n he
one is b o u n d to ask, " W h a t is the P u n j a b ; Bania and Kayastha i n
refers to the neglect of r u r a l edu-
c r i t e r i o n g o v e r n i n g this classifica- U P; and B r a h m i n , B a i d y a Kayas-
cation, ( p p 160-61). The basis of
t i o n " ? He has included owners and tha and B a n i a in Bengal. He has not
his classification of different groups
non-owners of the means of produc- even mentioned the Jews of Calcut-
into classes is not clear as e x e m p l i -
t i o n a n d has also excluded some of ta and Parsis of B o m b a y . Ghurye
fied in the above instances.
the owners of p r o p e r t y . It is appa- and G a d g i l have also treated this
rent that he has not used his defi- Arbitrary Use of Terms p r o b l e m . 1 N K Sinha has given the
n i t i o n of 'social class' consistently, M i s r a has made a r b i t r a r y use of caste c o m p o s i t i o n of some of the
because the basis of it is c e r t a i n l y the terms class, higher classes, h i g h occupational groups in Calcutta
not the relationship to p r o p e r t y as castes a n d social stratification. T h i s w h i c h shows that even some lower

687
 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April II, 1964

castes moved up after making i m p l y i n g thereby, that it was a one- cal schools and colleges were open-
money," The T e l is of Eastern I n d i a way process; whereas in matter of ed by Curzon to t r a i n subordinate
i m p r o v e d their p o s i t i o n w i t h the ac- fact the money earned f r o m land technical and supervisory staff. Later,
q u i s i t i o n o f wealth. Even i n Bengal was also invested in trade and com- superior l n d i a n personnel was t r a i n -
some lower castes commanded pres- merce 3 and also in education. As an ed to facilitate r a p i d i n d u s t r i a l ex-
tige after a c q u i r i n g wealth in the example for the latter, it m a y be pansion. W i t h the o p e n i n g up of
changed conditions. These castes mentioned that the c h i l d r e n of Za- trade in 1883 a new pattern of busi-
were the T e l is, Subarnabaniks and m i n d a r s of Bengal went to E n g l a n d ness was set u p . T h e separation of
Ugrakshatriyas. R e f e r e n c e to Brah- for h i g h e r studies. mercantile f r o m the financial branch
mins. Kayasthas and Banias, the A c c o r d i n g to the author the of c o m m e r c i a l transactions brought
castes w h i c h took advantage of the g r o w t h of the middle-class was res- f o r t h specialization in services. Thus
changed p o l i t i c a l and economic con- tricted to the u r b a n areas. Nowhere economic and p o l i t i c a l systems ne-
d i t i o n s are very vague indeed and does he discuss the " g r o w t h of cessitated a change in the system of
do not solve the p r o b l e m of caste- t o w n s " which is a very i m p o r t a n t education.
c o m p o s i t i o n of the m i d d l e class. factor in any analysis of the emer- A n o t h e r point h i g h l i g h t e d in this
The author seems to suggest that gence of the middle-class. book is that prestige c o u l d be de-
the change f r o m the caste system Pro-British Appronch r i v e d from higher education and
to the class system was very r a p i d . M i s r a constantly gives the impres- w e a l t h , instead of social p o s i t i o n .
He writes that "regardless of their sion that the emergence of I n d i a n T h i s was made possible by the i n -
o r i g i n a l standing in society'', specia- middle-class has been very r a p i d t r o d u c t i o n of the new educational
lists in business a d m i n i s t r a t i o n were and smooth, and that a l l B r i t i s h system. T h o u g h the change in values
awarded higher salary and superior policies encouraged trade, industry was not r a d i c a l , it was significant.
status, (pp 80. 1 0 0 ) . W a s it r e a l l y and education. But here one may
It was the educated few w h o pro-
so? C o u l d one c o m m a n d prestige by question the v a l i d i t y of his view,
pagated Western ideas and ways of
wealth and power as stated by h i m ? because lie .seems to have ignored
l i v i n g . A section of the intelligent-
T h i s can be tested o n l y if one has the factors w h i c h hampered the
sia also revolted against the West-
a knowledge of the " o r i g i n a l stand- g r o w t h of middle-class. H i s ap-
ern ideas and ways of l i v i n g and
i n g ' ' of the persons who took to the proach tends to be p r o - B r i t i s h and
was able to m o b i l i z e the peasants
new occupations. The degree of not c o m p l e t e l y objective. For ins-
and workers against the r u l i n g gov-
change f r o m the caste system to the tance, he overlooks the curbs i n t r o -
ernment. The m i d d l e class lias been
class system can be measured o n l y duced by Curzon in 1904 on the
equated w i t h the Congress by M i s r a .
in r e l a t i o n to the caste system. H i g h education of Indians, and the par-
W h e n Curzon saw the danger of
castes commanded prestige and t i a l i t y of the B r i t i s h for the A n g l o -
g r o w i n g awareness of their rights
wealth in the t r a d i t i o n a l social sys- Indians. He does not p o i n t out the
a m o n g the educated he m o d i f i e d the
tem and it was easier for them to position of those I n d i a n craftsmen
system of education. The educated
take up new occupations. So the w h o were displaced w i t h the end of
middle-class played a most i m p o r t -
change w o u l d be less if they took the indigeneous i n d u s t r y , due to the
ant role in b r i n g i n g about the I n -
to new occupations because they opening up of the I n d i a n market to
dependence of I n d i a , c h a n g i n g the
w o u l d occupy h i g h social position cheap manufactured goods f r o m
p o l i t i c a l system of this c o u n t r y .
in the class system s i m i l a r to that E n g l a n d . He does not comment on
Thus education b r o u g h t f o r t h change
in the caste system. On the other the role of these craftsmen in the
in the p o l i t i c a l and social set-up.
hand, change w o u l d be more radi- emergence of the m i d d l e class and
Change in the p o l i t i c a l and econo-
cal if the l o w e r castes raised their t h e i r position in the new class sys-
mic system was f o l l o w e d by change
status in the class system by earn- tem.
in the system of education. T h i s re-
i n g wealth t h r o u g h new occupations. A point on w h i c h this book does sulted in the i n t r o d u c t i o n of West-
T h i s c o u l d t h r o w l i g h t on the prob- throw l i g h t is the role of Western ern education and technology.
l e m o f occupational m o b i l i t y w h i c h education in the emergence of the
is c o m p l e t e l y i g n o r e d by the author. middle-class, i e, the role of educa- M i s r a seems to have made no use
t i o n in b r i n g i n g about social change. of the vast amount of l i t e r a t u r e
Further, rural-urban contact
It bears testimony to the fact that available on the system of social
s h o u l d have been dealt w i t h . W h i l e
education is an integral part of so- stratification, especially class, where-
discussing the g r o w t h of m i d d l e -
cietv and that the t w o (education as a book on such a subject requir-
classes in urban centres, it is i m -
and society) are closely inter-relat- ed a f i r m grasp of this concept
possible to ignore its r e l a t i o n s h i p
ed. Change in one necessitates change w h i c h has been developed and re-
to the r u r a l areas. V a r i o u s interest-
in the other. fined d u r i n g the past century. T h i s
i n g questions can be asked in this
To start w i t h , schools and colle- absence of sociological awareness has
context, e g, w h o invested money in
ges were opened in u r b a n centres become a drawback even in the
l a n d ? W h a t was the p o s i t i o n of the
to i m p a r t education to people w h o treatment of h i s t o r i c a l facts w h i c h
new l a n d l o r d s in the villages? W h a t
w o u l d act as media between the happen to be the author's special
happened to the landowners w h o
government and the masses. This field of study. T h u s one constantly
sold their l a n d ? W h i c h e v e r profes-
was essential to i m p l e m e n t G o v e r n - receives an impression that the sub-
sion they adopted after m i g r a t i n g to
mental policies of land r e f o r m and ject has not been discussed f r o m a l l
towns, people s t i l l m a i n t a i n e d con-
law. A w h o l e class of lawyers grew angles or developed to its f u l l scope.
tact w i t h the r u r a l areas and the
up in this context. Technical educa- A n d this is possible if the distinc-
l a n d they left b e h i n d . A c c o r d i n g to
tion had to be coordinated w i t h in- tions between the three subjects of
M i s r a , money flowed f r o m u r b a n to
d u s t r i a l development. Thus, techni- sociology, economics, and h i s t o r y
r u r a l areas as investment in l a n d .

688
 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April II, 1964

are broken down. instead of the gore. The fact that Swami Dayanand Rajagopalachari Gandhiji, Lala Laj-
three being treated as water-tight belonged to l o w e r - m i d d l e class loses pat Rai, C K Das, V a l l a b h b h a i Pa
compartments, its significance when one realizes tcl B h u l a b h a i Desai, and Pandit
In certain places even the histori- that his patrons and chief support- M a d a n M o h a n M a l a v i y a i n the
cal facts are not w e l l p r o v i d e d , nor ers came from the aristocratic or lower m i d d l e class? The author's
are they always accurate. As men- rich families. W h i l e going through assumption that the lower m i d d l e
tioned earlier, he has deliberately the preface of Satyartha Prakash, class initiated the freedom move-
ignored the hindrances which the one finds that it was w r i t t e n in the ment is questionable.
policies of the B r i t i s h put. in the palace of Maharana of L d a i p u r .
A basic flaw in this book is the
way of the r i s i n g middle-class. Ac- who was the patron of S w a m i Daya-
absence of a theoretical f r a m e w o r k .
c o r d i n g to M i s r a , the Permanent nand. On his first v i s i t to Punjab,
Settlement and the a b o l i t i o n of the the host of Swami Dayanand was a
customary rule of p r i m o g e n i t u r e in retired M u s l i m c i v i l surgeon of La-
Bengal formed the basis of the hore and a K h a n Bahadur. The
emergence of the middle-class. This largest f o l l o w i n g of these leaders
seems to suggest that the rule of might have come from the lower-
p r i m o g e n i t u r e was prevalent where- m i d d l e class, but that was not true
as he admiits in the b e g i n n i n g that of the leaders. In fact, examples can
it was not a c t u a l l y so. A n d if it was be cited to prove that m a n y leaders
prevalent, it was a p p l i c a b l e o n l y to of the independence movement d i d
local chiefs. Otherwise the institu- not belong to the l o w e r - m i d d l e class,
tion of joint p r o p e r t y a l l o w e d d i v i - as stated by M i s r a . To name a few,
sion in land w h i c h resulted in the can we place the Nehrus. A u r o b i n -
fragmentation of land. Thus the do Ghose, Subhash Chandra Bose,
fragmentation of land took place
even before the advent of the B r i t i s h .
( M i s r a . p 4 9 ; Sinha, p 3 4 ) . T h e
B r i t i s h o n l y added pace to the pro-
cess by m a k i n g land transferable
and by the i n t r o d u c t i o n of the sale
laws w h i c h necessitated sale of l a n d
in default of annual rent by a cer-
tain fixed date. ( G o p a l , p 2 0 ) . I n -
crease in p o p u l a t i o n in the r u r a l
areas was another incentive. Thus,
fragmentation was not caused by the
a b o l i t i o n of p r i m o g e n i t u r e .

The author presents c o n t r a d i c t o r y

historical facts. W h i l e discussing the
patriarchal basis of pre-British
I n d i a n society, lie states that even
the largest landholders became poor
in course of t i m e due to the inheri-
tance laws, (p 5 0 ) . Afterwards he
seems to contest this point by stat-
i n g that the fragmentation in land
occurred o n l y w i t h the advent of
the B r i t i s h .
Misra equates the (imigress w i t h
m i d d l e class interests. T h i s has been
refuted by many. M i d d l e class peo-
ple and m i d d l e class interests are
two things and it is not legitimate
to identify the two. A n d his point
that l o w e r m i d d l e class, c o m p r i s i n g
of dissatisfied educated people w i t h
low income, started the revivalist
movements as well as the freedom
movement, is not h i s t o r i c a l l y true.
F i r s t l y , the i n i t i a t o r s and the main
supporters of B r a h m o Samaj and
A r y a Samaj d i d not belong to the
l o w e r - m i d d l e class e g . Raja R a m
M o h a n Roy and Devendranath Ta-
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April 11, 1964