Death of the middle class
The vanishing of taxis is not the only signpost about the death of the middle class.
A few weeks ago, after winding up all the office work in the evening, I embarked on a search for a taxi along with one of my colleagues. However, we could not spot a taxi anywhere along the Qayyumabad Chowrangi which was busy as usual.
There were dozens of rickshaws — from two strokes to four strokes and three-seaters to 12-seaters — but no four-wheelers for hire. Our prospects were no better when we approached the Korangi Expressway. Then suddenly a brain wave hit us. Why not take a rickshaw ride to the Aga Khan Hospital? Surely, we could find a stream of parked taxis waiting for passengers there.
On the way, one of my colleagues diverted my attention to a serious development: the city is rapidly losing its middle class — the class which serves as a bridge between the rich and the poor. Moreover, my colleague pointed out that the utilities associated with the middle class, such as taxis, are also vanishing at the same speed. Like the decline of cinemas and the land grabbing of parks, the taxis of Karachi are fast disappearing. They have been replaced by private cars mostly owned by the rich and the crudely-built multi-seat rickshaws which are used by the poor masses.
Looking at the rise in street crimes and the proliferation of extortion rackets, one wonders how Karachi’s residents can cope with these threats day in and day out. The vanishing of taxis is not the only signpost about the death of the middle class. There are probably dozens of other things which also expose the plight of the middle class such as the decline in the quality of educational institutions attended by the middle class, grabbing of their entertainment facilities, skyrocketing commodity prices and shrinking job opportunities.
The worrying thing connected to this issue is the social impacts of it on the society. We must remember that the middle class not only serves as a bridge between the upper and poor classes, but also serves as hope for the poor. If the trend of causing trouble to the middle class is not stopped, then crime of all sorts will only increase.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2014.
There were dozens of rickshaws — from two strokes to four strokes and three-seaters to 12-seaters — but no four-wheelers for hire. Our prospects were no better when we approached the Korangi Expressway. Then suddenly a brain wave hit us. Why not take a rickshaw ride to the Aga Khan Hospital? Surely, we could find a stream of parked taxis waiting for passengers there.
On the way, one of my colleagues diverted my attention to a serious development: the city is rapidly losing its middle class — the class which serves as a bridge between the rich and the poor. Moreover, my colleague pointed out that the utilities associated with the middle class, such as taxis, are also vanishing at the same speed. Like the decline of cinemas and the land grabbing of parks, the taxis of Karachi are fast disappearing. They have been replaced by private cars mostly owned by the rich and the crudely-built multi-seat rickshaws which are used by the poor masses.
Looking at the rise in street crimes and the proliferation of extortion rackets, one wonders how Karachi’s residents can cope with these threats day in and day out. The vanishing of taxis is not the only signpost about the death of the middle class. There are probably dozens of other things which also expose the plight of the middle class such as the decline in the quality of educational institutions attended by the middle class, grabbing of their entertainment facilities, skyrocketing commodity prices and shrinking job opportunities.
The worrying thing connected to this issue is the social impacts of it on the society. We must remember that the middle class not only serves as a bridge between the upper and poor classes, but also serves as hope for the poor. If the trend of causing trouble to the middle class is not stopped, then crime of all sorts will only increase.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2014.