The traditional view in India has been that middle class votes don’t count, and this has conditioned both their own response to politics, apathy, as well as politicians’ neglect.  But times are changing.  Besides their increasing numbers, what remains underestimated about our middle class is their ‘soft power’, their increasing ability to influence national opinion.  It is middle class outrage, aided and abetted by the media, which has forced political changes in Maharashtra. 

Fifteen years of satellite television has also exposed us, particularly our demographically significant young population, to political activism in other countries in new, vibrant ways which are beginning to have an impact here. Thus the widespread admiration for grassroots campaigns like that of Barack Obama’s, and the praise with which John McCain’s gracious concession speech was received in this country.  Even among the political classes here, there is grudging admiration, and the recognition that Indian voters are wistfully hoping for similar energy and grace in our polity.

When Mumbai happened, the first instinct of India’s political leadership, both ruling and opposition, was to seek and demonstrate national unity.  Even though that instinct frayed quickly, it was a remarkable change from recent years of predictable responses.  The subsequent missteps, again by both ruling and opposition leaders, have been punished by public opinion.  The answer to whether India’s politicians can come up with a united response to terror lies in whether voters truly demand it of them. In this, the middle class will have a significant role, either by gradually letting the outrage of Mumbai fade into the background, or keeping its memory, and their zeal, alive.

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