Tracing India’s Middle Class: Politics, Economy & Digital Transformation

Sociologists Surinder S Jodhka and Aseem Prakash highlight that India’s middle class mirrors every shift in the country’s politics, economy, and culture. Its evolution spans colonial courtrooms, chalk-dusted classrooms, metro stations, DigiLockers, and QR-code payments.

The roots go back to the British Raj, when modern industrial economy, secular education, and a growing bureaucracy created demand for a new kind of professional worker.

By 1911, India had 186 colleges serving 36,284 students; by 1939, the numbers had grown to 385 colleges and 144,904 students.

These institutions produced lawyers, doctors, teachers, and journalists, mainly upper-caste professionals who often joined social reform movements and the freedom struggle while maintaining community boundaries.

Independence to the 1970s: The State as Employer

After Independence, the state became the largest employer, anchoring the middle class in public sector jobs. Jawaharlal Nehru’s economic planning put the government in charge of industry and services.

Public sector jobs grew by 5.1 million between 1956 and 1970, while private sector growth slowed. These salaried professionals wielded influence through institutional perks and bureaucratic authority.

Reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in education, jobs, and politics widened access, though upper-caste dominance persisted.

By the 1980s, India’s middle class embraced rising aspirations, private enterprise, and the first cracks in the licence–permit raj. The 1991 liberalisation expanded spending power but exposed workers to market volatility, inflation shocks, and job insecurity.

Analysts note that this middle class is not defined merely by income but by its position between the state, market, and civil society.

Organised sector jobs—public and private—have always anchored the middle class but represent only 7% of total employment. Public sector employment grew from 11.2 million in 1971 to 18 million in 2007 before shrinking post-1996.

The private organised sector rose slowly, even contracting between 1997–2006. Today, middle-income groups span agriculture, industry, services, intellectual professions, and decision-making roles, including farmers, small entrepreneurs, and salaried officials.

The Middle Class: Contradictions and Challenges

Government policies over the last decade explicitly target the middle class. Tax thresholds have risen, with the 2025–26 Union Budget raising the zero-tax threshold to ₹12 lakh and a ₹75,000 standard deduction, easing compliance for millions. Digital governance and infrastructure projects have transformed urban life:

• Smart Cities Mission: 93% complete
• PMAY (Urban): 92.72 lakh houses completed
• Metro networks: Expanded from 248 km in 2014 to 1,013 km in 2025
• Airports: Operational networks more than doubled under UDAN
  Healthcare and education also expanded: Ayushman Bharat covers 41 crore people, Jan Aushadhi Kendras grew to 16,469 outlets, and skill-building programs trained over 1.63 crore individuals. Digital services like Aadhaar, DigiLocker, and UMANG now serve hundreds of millions

From colonial reformers to online taxpayers, the Indian middle class has demanded both state protection and market freedom, modernisation and community identity.

Jodhka and Prakash emphasise that understanding the middle class requires examining its role relative to the state, market, and civil society.

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