Akhil Gupta (born 1959) is an Indian-American anthropologist whose research focuses on the anthropology of the state, development, as well as on postcolonialism.

He is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Gupta completed his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering from Western Michigan University, followed by a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The article argues for the examination of cultural anthropology as an unconscious mechanism of neo-imperialism.

[citation needed] Gupta is a leading figure in the anthropology of the state, and is the co-editor of a book of collected essays called The Anthropology of the State: A Reader.