View: Reforms produced a large middle class. But it hasn’t played an emancipatory role SECTIONS View: Reforms produced a large middle class. But it hasn’t played an emancipatory roleBy Devesh Kapur, TOI Contributor Last Updated: Jul 23, 2021, 10:20 AM IST Share Synopsis The growth of a middle class was expected to play a transformative role in propelling the economy on the one hand and modernising Indian society and politics on the other. The former would be achieved by its consumption potential that would drive domestic demand and the latter by pressuring the polity to address corruption and transcend identity politics. That this has occurred more in the breach is self-evident. Why has that been the case?