Without being aware of it, the citizenry of our country ushered in a silent social and cultural revolution in the general elections of 2014: the hegemony of a westernised microscopic English-speaking elite — call it the Khan Market gang or Delhi’s Lutyens elite, if you like — was overthrown and replaced by a home grown leadership, rooted in indigenous rather than in imported western values. This is the theme of Sanjay Baru’s latest book India’s Power Elite .

In one sense the change was waiting to happen. India’s middle-class is now estimated at 350 million or about 25 per cent of the population. The lower echelons of this class annually earn ₹2-10 lakh annually and are largely found in Tier 2, 3 and 4 towns. They drive both consumption as well as savings in the economy. Many of themaspire to live in their own houses, and own their first refrigerators, washing machines and vehicles.

Three forces

Historically, it is the product of three forces: one of these was unleashed by the economic reforms of the 1990s. These generated a new political consensus centring on a market-based economy; new employment opportunities for millions emerged, as a consequence.

Simultaneously with the reforms, VP Singh’s short-lived government supported the Mandal Commission report. Many youth of backward castes agitated for, and succeeded in, obtaining greater representation in public employment and in institutions of higher learning. The Constitution had to be amended to grant them 27 per cent reservation in public employment. This elevated to middle-class many poor people who otherwise may not have been able to gain such entry.

Finally, in the wake of this agitation, when Hindu society began to split on lines of caste identity, a worried BJP found in the birthplace of Lord Rama, a perfect symbol for revival of Hindu pride and nationalism. The swelling ranks of the new class readily embraced the ideology of this party. Many of these people are nationalistic to a fault. They also nurse resentments against the old elite and feel they have undeservedly enjoyed privileges only because of accident of birth, and their ability to speak English fluently.

These resentments are also intertwined with the decline of the Congress. After 1947, the native elite, nurtured by the British — manning the upper echelons of the civil service, academia. media, civil society and the armed forces — proved indispensible first to the Congress party and later to other political parties that came to power.

Each political party had its own favourites but made appointments from, and depended upon, the same closed club. This cosy relationship continued even when Atal Bihari Vajpayee led the first NDA government between 1999 and 2004. But it snapped when Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

The antagonism dates back to the Gujarat riots of 2002. Prime Minister Modi has often pointed out that Lutyen’s Delhi always regarded him as an interloper because he is the son of a chaiwala . Lutyens Delhi, on the other hand, has found him too authoritarian and majoritarian for their liking. His supporters feel that a person who works selflessly 18 hours a day, is personally incorruptible and understands and connects with the masses deserves all their support. Even his fiercest critics cannot deny him either his popularity or the trust that he currently enjoys amongst large sections of the population.

Even so, we will have to wait for decades for an objective assessment of the significance of 2014. This is because currently, we are too close to, and too emotionally involved with, the impugned events. The highly bitter and contentious political atmosphere does not permit an impartial academic inquiry.

The writer was Chief Commissioner of Income-tax