Middle Class Myth

Seeing media reports on Jessica Lal murder case the celebration that the media houses are having and deservedly so are palpable to one and all sitting in the comforts of their houses during the cold winter evenings in the capital city. A huge percentage of citizens watching the verdict against Manu Sharma, I am sure, feel a sense of fulfillment and achievement at finally winning justice for the cause for which they had held night vigils forsaking the comforts of their own houses. The act is well appreciated.

But has the so-called power of the middle class, much glorified by the news channels across the spread of the remote control, lost its furore so quickly? Or is the sentiment and support of the middle class that has ‘come of age’ (according to news reports) reserved only for the people facing injustices who belong to the upper middle class?

I ask these questions because I have received no invites, no mails, no SMSs and no forwarded mails to come forward and show solidarity to the grief stricken parents of the victims of Nithari. The channels and reporters who had decided to make sure that the cause for justice for Jessica be the main agenda for months seem to be questioning the motives of majority of the parents who are coming forth in a last attempt to identify the bodies of the children they have lost. The relatives of Nithari victims are poor people, mostly uneducated and definitely not a part of the socio-economic group that Nithari main accuse Moninder used to entertain through the privilege of child molestation. So has the India that had found a new voice after the success of Rang de Basanti and Lage Raho Munna Bhai lost the fire in its belly so early on to fight against injustice. The day Nithari case was exposed, I had told my mother that I would participate in all the marches that were sure to be carried out to show support and solidarity to the Nithari victims and their families. When the middle class of Delhi could hold marches and night-vigils demanding justice for a single person I could hardly imagine the extent to which they would go to demand justice for more than a dozen innocent children.

Sadly enough the middleclass disappointed me, but not as much as the media houses. NDTV did not ask me to sign petitions demanding middle of the road lynching for Moninder and Suninder. CNN IBN did not promise to raise funds, by lighting virtual candles, for the victims’ families. AAJTAK made a mockery of the police and their inquiries by giving prime time attention to a lady who proclaimed to be the mistress of Moninder. Times of India too did not want me to go to their website to register my vote. Youth for Equality did not take up the cause and Amir Khan did not come visiting the capital. None of the political parties were brave enough to announce handsome compensations for the bereaved families (the least they could have done). Nothing. Nothing for those who were at the prime of their childhood, who had not known what life was all about and who might have grown up to be someone India could have been proud of. Not a candle not a SMS and not even a tear. Where is the new risen middle class that raises its voice? Is it a reality or a myth? For answers I am waiting…