It's our turn to eat

Writer Sanjeev Sanyal states that India’s elite have lost their credibility:

"Almost anyone in a position of power in India, including well-known print and television journalists, is now viewed with suspicion. This is occurring at a time when economic growth is pulling a young and upwardly mobile population into the urban middle class. This new middle class is no longer constrained by the patronage systems of the village, but it also does not enjoy the cozy relationship that links the old middle class with the elite. Could this crisis of the elite trigger India’s own Tiananmen Square moment?"

Mr. Sanyal notes examples from various societies, like Britain in 1880 and US in 1880-1890,  which were characterized by greed and corruption, and wonders whether India is headed for a similar turn-around:

"Even adjusted for purchasing power, India’s middle class today probably totals no more than 70 million (far smaller than is generally assumed). But, in the coming decade, today’s established middle class will be swamped by newcomers working their way up from the country’s slums, small towns, and villages.

..

It is impossible to predict when the shift will happen or what form it will take. Given India’s democratic traditions, it is likely that the change will be peaceful. One possibility is that it will take place province by province – the previously ungovernable state of Bihar being a prime example."

While I hope this happens, I am not so sure: the Indian elite have already changed, and barring notable exceptions, the successors have been worse. The politicians gaining center stage post the Mandal reforms of the early 1990s, such as Lalu Prasad Yadav and the tainted chief minister of Karanakata, BS Yeddyurappa , have further muddled the waters. The corporates gaining prominence post the economic reforms of 1991 have crony capitalization to thank for their rise. Moreover, the Reddy mafia in Karnataka have demonstrated how easy it is to blend New Money with a new style of electoral politics. And the celebration of having a Dalit as the Chief Justice of India for the first time  (Balakrishnan) has been replaced by dismay over corruption allegations that stagger the mind.

India’s elite might thus be democratized: social groups previously kept away from power, money and prestige now assert their rights, but in doing so, seem to be eager to outdo the excesses and crimes of the previous generation. We are thus close to enacting the scenario described by Michela Wrong in her book It’s Our Turn To Eat, where the three major Kenyan tribes take their turns to ravage whatever little has been left of the Kenyan economy: India seems to be producing an assembly line of elite that are corrupt, discredited and unreliable.