Social Ailment

Artificial intelligence-based systems are not socially neutral; they are already exposing existing socio-cultural realities

- Rituparna Patgiri

SOCIOLOGISTS have historically seen the middle class as more than only an economic group.

It is a social category marked by features like consumption, aspiration and social mobility. The size of the middle class increased in the 2000s, especially in urban areas. Although historically dominated by upper castes, people from other castes too have gradually made inroads into it in recent years.

Education and different kinds of occupations associated with information technology (IT)—such as engineering, computer science, software development, data science, business analytics, product management, etc.—have played a significant role in the rise of the new middle class. Apart from these IT sector jobs, finance, banking, real estate, business processing, etc. have also helped this section of society flourish. These technical jobs have been the symbols of new India’s aspirations and cosmopolitanism, which offered social mobility, prestige and stability.

Sensing the increasing demand for technical education, institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) were set up after Independence to build a technical workforce that could contribute to nation-building. Over the years, IITs have become symbolic of India’s development, merit and world-class education. Gradually, there was also an explosion of private engineering and technical educational institutions, as well as coaching centres. Through their international reputation and alumni networks, elite institutions have facilitated the visibility and mobility of the new middle class.

IT Boom and New Middle Class

Social anthropologist Carol Upadhya’s work has highlighted how the social composition of the IT workforce is largely urban, middle class and high/middle caste. The IT boom led to the rise of urban technology hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. Hemangini Gupta’s 2024 book