A rising rural middle class

One of the social classes that are hard to define and delineate is the middle class. We can in some ways measure the material indicators, the standard of living and the income, but the range is so vast that one cannot escape the dilemma of slicing the middle class into several categories. One of such groupings of the middle class, in my opinion, is the rural middle class.

What are some of the features of this class and what does its rise means for future social relations and political affiliations? The members of this class have assets in land and immovable property, are in local trade, have some professional or technical skills and have government jobs like those of schoolteachers. The largest among them are the small landowners, owning roughly close to seven acres or more in canal-irrigated zones, but to rank in this class in the rain-fed areas, either one would have to own larger parcels of land or be in horticulture.

Two other related developments have added to the growing numbers of the middle class: dairy farming and agricultural machinery servicing. With the capitalisation of agriculture, a new generation of farm managers and supervisors, along with a class of business-oriented farmers leasing farms and fruit orchards, has emerged.

One way we can gauge the growth of the rural middle class is by studying the lifestyle changes and consumption of durable goods such as television sets motorbikes, fridges, washing machines and tractors. Purchase and maintenance of these goods requires a certain level of income each year that only a middle-class person can afford. The number of households in almost every agricultural region of Pakistan has steadily grown, marking a visible economic and social change.

We cannot, therefore, ignore the social and political impact of the green revolution that has truly arrived in Pakistan; some would argue we achieved the green revolution a couple of decades back. But this is not a one episode revolution nor a static one, but a process of transformation of agriculture which revives itself with every new breeding of seed and new agricultural technology. I would admit, however, that the economic and social gains, so far, are still under optimal, given our huge potential for increasing agricultural production.

We need a regular and systematic accounting of social and economic changes in the rural regions through household surveys. My assessment about the growth of the rural middle class is essentially impressionistic and based on personal observations. However, I have a firm idea that there is a rural middle class and it is growing.

What does it mean, socially and politically to be a member of the rural middle classes? First of all, it means social mobility, personal autonomy and the social capacity to get out of the traditional webs of hierarchical relationships. Second, the rising middle class, in every historical context, has been quite conscious of its rights and the social recognition of its place in the society. More than that, economic and social ambition drives it towards embracing ideas of a progressive, rule-bound and peaceful society.

The rise of this class is bound to redefine feudal politics in the rural regions of Pakistan. The members of this class are more likely to support programme based, honest political parties than the poorer sections in the rural constituencies. It is hard to say which type of political parties the rural middle classes are likely to join or vote for, but it seems they may tilt towards the religious political parties and groups due to issues of trust and class solidarity.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2010.