Disappearance of the 'Old Elite'

The past two decades have been quite momentous in a literal sense. Close observation of the socio-economic, cultural and political landscape invariably raises more questions than ever. And, most of these questions cannot be answered to our own satisfaction, let alone to the satisfaction of others. 

Over the past decade, one question has frequently come across my mind. I keeping asking this question but have never got any help. It is a question that nobody has been able to answer. The first time, the question came up was during research on the Culture of Finance Business in the Vijayawada Region of Andhra Pradesh. The interesting aspect of the Krishna district (and the neighbouring districts) is that the present day elite invariably consists of one that has climbed the social, economic and political ladder in their own life time. Most of them started their career as either handymen (cleaners) or drivers, clerks, small time commission agents or those doing odd jobs graduating into small time business men and subsequently growing. Coming from the lower rungs of the economic pyramid, they would invest all their surplus in land (agricultural land in rural areas or urban real estate). This investment in land may have also been due to their intention of making known their own success to their peers and kinsmen in their community. It had its own advantages: it increased their assets and also their creditability (they could now be lent money since they had some asset). Rising land values invariably increased their economic and social status.

The rise of the new elite is by itself not surprising. However, what is very surprising is that the 'Old Elite', especially those who dominated the economic and social landscape of the region a few decade back are conspicuous by their absence. Interestingly, none of their descendents are anywhere close to the top of the social and economic matrix. The only exception seem to be those who belonging to the Andhra Sugars Group. They seem to have simply faded into the background and from there into oblivion. It has become almost impossible to track them to even find out, even from an academic point of view. 

This seems to be happening in a number of other districts of Andhra Pradesh. The photos below are from Wanaparthy Town in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The buildings that belonged to the former Raja now house the Polytechnic college. The Raja was magnanimous to donate it in 1954. The Raja's daughter's, like a number of other descendents of the elite have migrated to the USA and his adopted son is in Hyderabad, governing a school which became more famous for the supposed riches buried deep underneath rather than his activities beyond it. It is now the centre of the town. Despite its majestic appearance from the distance, the close we get the more it reflects the status of their former owners: either crumbling or in a state of fading into the oblivion. This particular structure it is a bad state and requires urgent repairs though not completely dilapidated.

The  occasional maintenance expenditure apparently was possible when some film producers decided to shoot Telugu films about Factions and related stories. Ironically, the Rayalaseema faction films were shot in Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh.

A View from the Balcony of the building

The picture below is a well in the college compound that was built first built in 1868 and then rebuilt in 1904.

Hopefully, we can find a way to protect our heritage, even if we were to remind our posterity of the existence of a different kind of socio-economic environment from the present.