Friday, June 16, 2006

Salaam Middle Class !!!

My tenure of about 22 days in the country of Bangladesh, has given me a lot of solutions whereby i can visualize as to why this country being similar to that of India is finding it difficult to progress ahead. This country has people of the same culture and fabric as that of India. But there's one striking noticeable thing in this country. This country does not possess a MIDDLE CLASS ...

For many of my friends, who despise being the middle class, think again !!! The middle class is one of the most important elements in the demographics of the country. It bridges the gap between the rich and poor and thus minimizes friction between the two. Bangladesh, is divided into two distinct classes, the top 10% are the elite who are rich than most indians and the bottom 90% are poor who are even poorer than most indians. Now this big gap brings with it it's own set of problems.

First of all even though bangladesh has the population and the numbers, it does not have a class that simulates demand. That is only possible with the middle class which has a disposable income. Secondly, the population does not have a tendency to save as a whole. The rich do not want to save as they feel they have plenty of money and the poor want to spend the money on luxuries, which they feel are rare and hence must be enjoyed whenever possible.

The middle class on the other hand start saving the day they are born. I need not elaborate on this as most of the readers must have had a good first hand experience in this regard.

The second most striking feature in Bangladesh and in most countries is that it lacks diversity ...... Only two countries have diversity in them and are hence on top one is USA and the other is our very own INDIA ...... With diversity you have people of varied abilities contributing to the country .... Bangladesh lacks the wily MARWARI/GUJARATI Businessman, The Sharp & quick TAM, The beautiful MARATHIS & MALLUS , The Brave Sikh Sardars & the hard-working Behari bhaiyas and many many more .... Probably as my friend rightly commented... All it takes is to put two Marwari Businessmen into Bangladesh and a middle class will soon rise to bridge the gap ...

I salute again to this great Indian Middle Class :)

1 comment:

Vikrant Naik said...

hey...
amazing observation. kind of opened my eyes. cool. send me a scrap as soon as u post somethng new.
you know what...may be thats the reason they say india is secular...and its not just abt hinduism...