The changing face of Pakistan’s middle class

Speakers narrate evolution from being ‘secular, politically aware’ to becoming ‘conservative’

KARACHI: Pakistan's middle class has evolved from being "secular" and "politically conscious" to becoming "conservative, lacking in intellect and divided by identity politics," claimed speakers at the 11th Karachi Literature Festival.
Reminiscing about the "old middle class" that had existed in Ayub Khan's reign, during a session titled 'The Political Character of Pakistani Middle Class', Dr Huma Baqai, the associate dean at IBA Karachi's social sciences department, said that it was unaligned with democracy, yet had highly secular views.
"It was modernistic and progressive. It was a politically conscious middle class," she said, adding that it was, at the same time, "comfortable with the status quo." But it was soon to metamorphose into a drastically different group of people when Ziaul Haq came into power, she went on. The change began with Ziaul Haq dividing the middle class into rural and urban middle class. And later, his policies led to the "seeping of religiosity in the society, due to which the [country's] middle class turned conservative and religious," she explained.
"No political party can now win elections basing [its campaign on] progressive and secular views," she opined.
Juxtaposing the middle class of yesteryears and today, journalist Ghazi Salahuddin echoed Dr Baqai's views, pointing out that the middle class today, by and large, was deprived of intellect. "[And] this intellectual deprivation is a matter of great concern for a society like Pakistan," he emphasised. "It restricts civil society and its freedom, and has brought creativity and culture to the brink of elimination."
But, in Salahuddin's opinion, intellectual deprivation is not the only drawback of present-day society. "It is [also] divided due to identity politics," he said, as a consequence of which "it lacks plurality which results in the generation of violence." The middle class was now largely politically inclined towards the right and was conservative, he said.
Besides, Salahuddin pointed out, middle class in the country was constantly striving to climb up the ladder of social mobility so as to be a part of the elite class. On this note, Dr Baqai went on to explain how the middle class, which constitutes 42 per cent of Pakistan's population according to a World Bank report, had blemished society.
"Our middle class is selfish. It [strives to] create links with the status quo, the powerful, in its search for upward mobility," she said, adding that it loved to rub shoulders with the elite, in turn, letting the society fall victim to capitalism and consumerism.
Political economist and researcher, Asad Sayeed, who also joined the panel, however, implied that the willingness of the middle class in Pakistan to move up the social pyramid may not necessarily be viewed as a negative.
The desire among the middle class to become a part of the elite class was observed across the world, he said, also pointing out that no matter its character, the importance of the middle class in society could not be sidelined. It comprised traders, professionals and the youth, and hence their voice dominated the discourse, especially in the urban centres of the country, said Sayeed.
And it was in this youth as well as the country's women that Dr Baqai found hope and saw the potential to bring about a drastic change in Pakistani society in the years to come.
"The importance of middle class has increased over time. With the revolution in media, it is now an informed middle class, but the question remains whether it will transform into a knowledgeable one," remarked Dr Baqai, leaving the question lingering in the audience's mind.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2020.