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The trouble is with the idea of ascendancy being one of escape into a group that is insulated from the
realities that a vast majority faces. Protests on Twitter and Facebook are seen to be fine, but filing an
FIR or PIL is not a natural instinct. But then dealing with the police and street level campaigns is what
grass root politics demands.
This is why the corrupt politician wins without a challenge from the club class. And since he or she has
won they can club it with a law. They can be mocked or scorned at, but they rule. The disconnect
manifests itself as low voter turn outs in affluent urban areas. But how long before the club gates are
pushed in from the outside?
Bengaluru, by virtue of its dollar income and the IT industry, is a classic example of this deep
disconnect. A new generation of millionaires / billionaires have emerged from middle class
backgrounds. They are exposed to the world and are constantly logged on. Most can neither understand
the local language nor comprehend its politics. In effect, they have no political stakes. Every Indian city
suffers from this disconnect in different degrees. The changes in demography outside have had an
impact inside clubs. Old members often rue the influx of the new. But while more Indians became rich
and began breaching the Club elite barrier, they largely imitated the idea, behaviour and appearance
that defined social acceptance and elite, without challenging it.
Ultimately, as the clubs protest against an obnoxious law, it is important to see what this battle
represents and why the law is just a symptom and not the disease. The only solution - understand and
address the stark difference between what represents 'clubbable' in urban India and 'winnable' in an
election.
An outer view of the Bangalore Club.