01682nam a22001577a 4500999001700000020001800017082002200035100002400057245002400081260004500105300001700150520114400167650006301311942001201374952013801386  c25329d25329  a9780199466795  a305.550954bJOD-I  aJodhka, Surinder S.  aIndian Middle Class  aNew DelhibOxford University Pressc2016  axxiii, 232p.  aWho exactly are the middle classes in India? What role do they play in contemporary Indian politics and society, and what are their historical and cultural moorings? The authors of this volume argue that the middle class has largely been understood as an ‘income/ economic category’, but the term has a broader social and conceptual history, globally as well as in India.

To begin with, the middle class is not a homogeneous category but is shaped by specific colonial and post-colonial experiences and is differentiated by caste, ethnicity, region, religion, and gender locations. These socio-economic differentiations shape its politics and culture and become the basis of internal conflicts, contestations, and divergent political worldviews. The authors demonstrate how the middle class has acquired a certain legitimacy to speak on behalf of the society as a whole, despite its politics being inherently exclusionary, as it tries to protect its own interests. Further, perceived as an aspirational category, the middle class has a seductive charm for the lower classes, who struggle to shift to this ever elusive social location.  aMiddle ClassvCommunity DevelopmentvTransformationzIndia  2ddccBK  00104070aNASSDOCbNASSDOCd2019-03-25eOPi25/03/2019l1o305.550954 JOD-Ip50127r2025-10-04 00:00:00s2025-07-26w2019-03-25yBK