Constructing Consumer India

Investors and developers argued that a certain kind of person – one who, unlike the majority of Indians, earns well, lives in a nuclear family, and has a spouse who works – guaranteed future demand for real estate and thus price appreciation. The resulting “end-user” or “genuine resident” eerily resembles a generic globally elite consumer. This chapter traces the origins of this middle class “genuine consumer” from social science surveys to consultancy reports and conversations with developers. It argues that this image of consumerist personhood is tied to ideas about time and place, forming a chronotope that contrasts with the present and motivates real estate producers to build the places and consumers it describes.

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