Letters: The hurried middle class

This is to congratulate Ajit Balakrishnan on his well-researched and ably written piece “The worldwide middle-class angst” (December 29). However, may I point out that the author overlooked that section of the Indian middle class that is in a hurry to squeeze itself out of the social unrest. It is this middle-class-in-a-hurry that, in my understanding, has nourished the baby called “corruption” to become a full-grown monster. Between the 1960s and 1980s, this type saw that the best way to make money was to become a politician or hold a public office. This was the time when everyone from the middle class wanted to become a government servant since it meant having a secure job with no accountability. Surprisingly, the author also refers to the Fifth Kondratiev Wave, the so-called age of information and communication technology, creating a phenomenon. But he forgot to mention that three of the most corrupt people – Sukhram, Pramod Mahajan and A Raja – came from this sector.

A C Michael, New Delhi