One of India's most eminent sociologists, Dipankar Gupta, has hit out at those who call themselves the 'middle class', saying they are not capable of sustained political action and leadership.

Calling them 'elitist', with disproportionate access to the State's patronage and resources, he dismisses them as agents of social or political change. 'Their every step is compromised,' he says.

Gupta describes movements such as Anna Hazare's, or the public outcry and protests about rape and molestation of women, as 'stop-gap movements', which do not have a long-term perspective. He feels these movements come up only when issues boil over, and 'their attempt is to say that things were wrong in some places and they needed to be corrected'.

'The issues of social dynamism, the uplift of entire society in terms of citizenship – these are things that are rarely attended to,' argues the former professor at Delhi's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University.

'There is no middle class in India'

In a detailed interview with Catch, Gupta surveys the last 70 years of Independence to analyse the emergence of a middle class (or the lack thereof) in the country.

There is no middle class in India, and it will not emerge unless the State itself takes up the project of creating a middle class, he declares..