Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
About Author:
MULK RAJ ANAND
• Born: December 12, 1905, Peshawar
• Died: September 28, 2004, Pune
• Indian writer in English, notable for his depiction of the lives of the poorer castes in
Indian society.
• One of the pioneer of Indo Anglo Fiction
• His writing career began in England, where he used to publish short reviews in T.S.
Eliot’s magazine ‘criterion
• He won Sahitaya Academy Award for his novel “The morning face” in 1968
• He was honoured with Padma Bhushan’ India’s third last civilian award in 1967 for
his great contribution in the field of literature and education.
• Mulk Raj Anand admired for his novels and short stories
• His writing are rich with the realistic and touching portrayal of the problems of the
common man.
• He wrote numerous articles and essays on Marxism, Indian independence and
political issues.
• His novel deals with untouchability, exploitation, power and the suffering of the
Indians masses.
• He noted for their Perspective insight into the lives of the oppressed and their
analysis of exploitation and misfortune.
NOVELS BY AUTHOR:
• Untouchables published, 1935
• Across the Black waters, 1939
• The sword and the sickle, 1942
• Coolie, 1936
• The private life of an Indian prince, 1953
• The village, 1939
• Two leaves and a bud, 1937
Overview of Novel:
Untouchable is a novel written by Mulk Raj Anand. Published in 1935, it charts the path of
one day in the life of a young man named Bakha. Bakha is a member of the Untouchables, a
designation for people so far below even the lowest caste in Indian society that they are
considered outside of the system. His job is to sweep streets and latrines for the upper class,
who are forbidden from cleaning or touching human waste. Because he was born as an
Untouchable, this will be Bakha's job for his entire life, unless there are reforms in India. The
entire novel takes place on one day of Bakha's life, a day in which his tolerance for the
mistreatment endured by the lower castes begins to erode.
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
Plot Summary:
As the novel begins, Bakha is reporting for another day of latrine cleaning at the behest of
his father, an ill-tempered bully named Lakha. While cleaning the latrine of a famous street
hockey player named Charat Singh, the man invites Bakha to visit him later in the day. He
promises to give Bakha a hockey stick as a gift.
When Bakha comes home, his sister Sohini leaves to get water for them. She travels to the
communal well. However, the Untouchables are not able to dip their own water—the upper
caste Hindus believe that the touch of an undercaste will pollute the well, which would then
have to be subjected to lengthy and expensive purification rituals. A priest named Kali Nath
arrives and, taken with Sohini’s beauty, agrees to pour water for her. He then invites her to
the temple courtyard later in the day so that she can clean it.
Bakha moves through the streets, sweeping. He accidentally brushes up against a Brahmin
Hindu, who begins to shout that he has been polluted by Bakha. The man shouts at Bakha as
a mob gathers, joining in the insults. The man slaps Bakha before a Muslim cart driver
breaks up the fight and disperses the mob. The Muslim man does not care about the Hindu
castes, since he is also treated as an Untouchable.
Bakha goes to the temple and looks inside, which is forbidden to him. But before he is
caught, Sohini appears, crying. The priest who invited her to clean the temple is there,
accusing her of polluting him with her touch. Sohini claimed that he sexually assaulted her
by grabbing her breasts while she was cleaning the lavatory. It was only when she rejected
him that he began shouting that she had touched him. Bakha tells her to go home and says
he will take responsibility for gathering food.
He spends the rest of the afternoon begging for food, all while being subjected to various
indignities and cruelties from the upper caste Hindus. He is increasingly disgusted with the
mistreatment he suffers, and when he gets home he tells his father the story about the man
who hit him. His father insists that the upper Hindus are good and kind, and reminds Bakha
that when he was an infant, a Hindu doctor came to their home and saved Bakha's life when
he had a fever.
Bakha attends the wedding of the sister of one of his friends. After he tells two of his friends
the story of the man hitting him, one of them proposes that they take revenge on the man.
Bakha considers it, but he understands that he will only get himself and his family in trouble
if he retaliates. The Untouchables have no recourse for justice.
After collecting his hockey stick from Charat Singh, Bakha joins a game of street hockey.
During the game, a fight begins and the two teams throw rocks at each other. One of the
rocks hits a little boy in the head. Bakha picks him up and carries him to his mother, who
recognizes him as a street sweeper. Even though he is trying to help she screams that he has
polluted her son.
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
At home, Bakha's father is furious that Bakha has been away all afternoon. He kicks Bakha
out of the house. Bakha makes his way to a train station where he hears a rumor that
Mahatma Gandhi is coming there to give a speech. Bakha stays until Gandhi arrives.
Gandhi's speech condemns the caste system and urges the people to follow his example of
non-violent protest. Bakha is enthused by the speech, but does not know enough to
determine whether Gandhi's suggestions are naïve.
After the speech, Bakha overhears two educated men, a poet and a lawyer, debating the
merits of Gandhi's speech. The lawyer believes that Gandhi's aims are childish and irrational.
Longstanding traditions are rarely overturned, and he believes that the caste system will
endure despite protests for reform. The poet believes that the barbarism of the caste
system will be eliminated, particularly in light of the fact that the flushing toilet is rumored
to be coming to their town. Once the people have flushing toilets, there will be no need for
the Untouchables to dispose of the town's refuse, which would require a rethinking of their
role and duty to society.
The author's experience as an Indian, and the fact that Untouchable was written while the
caste system was firmly in place, give the novel an authenticity and accuracy that make it
easy to empathize with Bakha and his family. Untouchable is a unique opportunity for
readers to experience the plight of the victims of the caste system. At the same time, the
story identifies the complexities of Indian identity after the Great War as India emerges
from postcolonialism to globalism.
Untouchable Character List:
Bakha, son of Lakha: An 18-year-old Indian youth, Bakha is a sweeper and the protagonist
of Untouchable. Strong and able-bodied, he is fascinated by the life and ways of India’s
English colonizers. His position as an untouchable has resulted in high levels of self-
deprecation and depression. Bakha can be judgmental and at times helps perpetuate the
very system that keeps him oppressed. Paradoxically, he still questions the status quo and
challenges a caste system that is supposedly “set in stone.”
Chota: The son of a leather-worker, Chota is one of Bakha’s best friends. Though they are of
the outcaste class, Chota is higher than Bakha in the caste system’s hierarchy. Like Bakha, he
is also obsessed with the English.
Ram Charan: Ram Charan is the washer’s son and Bakha’s other best friend. He is also
higher in the hierarchy than Bakha because his family only washes other people’s clothes
(an act deemed cleaner than clearing refuse).
Lakha, Jemadar of the sweepers: Bakha’s father. A lazy, abusive man that takes advantage
of his children. He resents Bakha’s obsession with the English and urges Bakha to be
satisfied with their family’s lot in life as untouchables and sweepers.
Rakha: Bakha’s younger brother. Somewhat of a foil to Bakha’s character, he is described as
“a true child of the outcaste colony.”
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
Sohini: Bakha’s younger sister, Sohini is described as nubile and beautiful. Patient and
resilient, she bears the brunt of her family’s frustrations. Her altercation with a member of
the high caste is one cause of Bakha’s existentialist woe.
Havildar Charat Singh: One of Bakha’s heroes, Singh is a famous hockey player. His
personality is jocular, his mood extremely changeable. At the beginning of the novel he
harangues Bakha to clean the latrines but later on he gives Bakha a brand new hockey stick.
His willingness to share his afternoon tea with Bakha illustrates his lack of belief in
untouchability.
Ali: A young man of Bakha’s age group, Ali is the son of a regimental bandsman and Muslim.
Bakha asks him questions about Islamic practices and is accused of insulting the religion.
Ramanand: Described by Bakha as a “peevish old black moneylender,” Ramanand is of a
higher class than Bakha. He interrupts Bakha’s morning musings by shouting at him to clean
the latrines.
Gulabo: A washer woman, Gulabo is Ram Charan’s mother. She has a superiority complex
because she has a high place in the hierarchy of the low castes/outcastes. She resents
Bakha’s friendship with her sons and hates Sohini.
Waziro: Waziro is the weaver’s wife and prevents Gulabo from hitting Sohini.
Pundit Kali Nath: He is one of the priests in charge of the temple in Bulashah, the town
Bakha and his family live outside of. He sexually assaults Sohini and then accuses her of
defiling him.
Lachman: A Hindu water-carrier, he is 26 years old and attracted to Sohini.
Hakim Bhagawan Das: A local doctor, Hakim Bhagawan saved Bakha’s life when he was a
small child.
Ram Charan’s sister: Bakha’s childhood crush, Ram Charan’s sister is a symbol of the things
Bakha is barred from because of his low status in the caste system.
Colonel Hutchinson: The chief of the local Salvation Army, Hutchinson is a Christian
missionary tasked with converting Hindus to Christianity. The face of the Christian religion in
the novel, he symbolizes one facet of England’s colonization of India.
Mary Hutchinson: Mary is the Colonel’s irreligious wife. Miserable about their life in India,
she constantly demeans and disparages her husband’s work amongst Indian peoples, who
she refers to as “blackies.”
Mahatma Gandhi: One of several real-life people alluded to/featured in Untouchable,
Gandhi was one of the leaders of India’s independence movement. In the novel his purpose
is to offer a religious, moral, and political denunciation of untouchability
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
Kasturabai Gandhi: The wife of Mahatma Gandi. Like her husband, Kasturabai was heavily
involved with India’s independence movement. In the novel she accompanies Gandhi during
his visit to Bakha’s town.
Miraben Slade: Another real-life person that makes an appearance in the novel, Miraben
was the daughter of a British admiral. She left Britain to work at Gandhi’s side for India’s
independence in 1925. In the novel, she also accompanies Gandhi during his visit to Bakha’s
town.
Iqbal Nath Sarshar: A young poet who defends Gandhi despite his misgivings about the
revolutionary’s political and economic views. Sarshar offers up a Marxist interpretation of
the plight of the untouchables and suggests a Marxist solution.
R. N. Bashir: An Indian lawyer that studied at Oxford. Bashir is highly critical of Gandhi and
the Marxist solution suggested by Sarshar.
Untouchable Themes
1. You Are What You Wear
Habiliments, known in contemporary vernacular as clothing, play a pivotal role in
Untouchable. For starters, Anand uses characters' clothing to signify everything from
religion to caste level. During the beginning of Bakha’s day, clothing is used to differentiate
the many men that come to use the latrines. The Hindus are naked except for their
loincloths. Muslims are distinct from Hindus because they wear long white cotton tunics and
baggy trousers (Anand 32). Furthermore, when the crowds gather to hear the Mahatma
speak, they are separated into their various castes and religions. The “Hindu lallas,” or high-
caste Hindu ladies, are “smartly dressed in silks” while members of the outcaste colony are
dressed in rags (Anand 264).
Clothing as a signifier of religion and caste level is only one aspect of the “you are what you
wear” theme. Through the eyes of Bakha, clothing becomes a metaphor for superiority and
enlightenment. He marvels at the “clear-cut styles of European dress” and considers those
that wear them “sahibs,” or superior people. He thinks that if he were to wear these
habiliments, he would cast off his untouchable status and become a sahib too (Anand 20).
To this end, he begs Tommies for their extra clothing no matter how loosely they fit him.
Though seemingly superficial, Bakha’s musings about clothing reflecting the inner person
have a strand of truth. His own getup, though ill fitting, supposedly “removes him above his
odorous world” in the eyes of the onlooker as he cleans the latrines (Anand 30). The
onlookers are perplexed that someone dressed as Bakha is from the untouchable caste.
Here is a clear example of the theme “you are what you wear.”
2. Rejection of Indian Roots
The rejection of Indian habits and social customs is a central idea of Untouchable. Bakha is
the best personification of this theme in the novel. We are first introduced to his distaste for
certain Indian habits when he watches the Hindu men performing their morning ablutions.
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
Anand writes that after working in the British barracks Bakha had become ashamed of the
“Indian way” of washing up (Anand 34). Other Indian habits that Bakha shows contempt for
are how some Hindu men and women relieve themselves in the open on the streets (Anand
36), the Indian tendency to wear “florid ornaments” (Anand 107), and even the Indian way
of drinking tea (Anand 62). The disapproval Bakha feels for these various habits stem from
British feelings about them. For example, when the British see Hindus relieving themselves
on the ground in public, they say kala admi zamin par hagne wala (black man, you who
relieve yourself on the ground) (Anand 35). These words are a condemnation and something
to be embarrassed about, in Bakha’s opinion. His rejection of Indian ways of life is directly
correlated to his embracement of British ways of life. If the British sahibs dislike something,
they must be right, and he must emulate them in all things.
The rejection of Indian roots is closely intertwined with Britain’s colonization of India and
extends far past Bakha to Indian society as a whole. Bakha is not the only Indian fascinated
by English culture. The presence of the Salvation Army in Bulashah is a testament to this. It
shows that there are some Indians interested in Christianity, the religion of the colonizer.
Further, at the end of the novel it is suggested that accepting the European “machine” (i.e.,
moving away from an agricultural economy to an industrial one) might be the path to
salvation for untouchables. Rejecting the Indian way of clearing waste and embracing the
European way of flushing it away without human contact could mean an end to the
demands that sweepers satisfy, which would allow them to seek out other types of work
that wouldn’t make them untouchable.
However, things aren’t always so straightforward. An example of this is the British-Indian
penal code the poet Iqbal speaks of near the end of the novel. This code recognizes the
rights of every Indian before the court, which on the de jure level makes everyone equal.
And yet, the Hindu caste system simply adjusted and made profession the determinant of
caste level. Because families typically have the same profession across generations, this did
not alter much. After walking a day in Bakha’s shoes it is clear that the caste system persists
despite British attempts to eradicate it. While certain ways of Indian life have been rejected
in the face of supposed British superiority, others are upheld. Here the push and pull
between Indian and British sociocultural mores can be seen.
3. Class Struggle
At its core Untouchable is a tale about class struggle. The paralyzing and polarizing
differences between the various caste levels shape Bakha’s day and fuel the narrative. Class
and caste play a role in every interaction Bakha has over the course of his day. When his
hero Singh speaks with him in the morning, it is with a “grin [that] symbolized six thousand
years of racial and class superiority.” When Singh promises to give Bakha a hockey stick, he
calls forth a “trait of servility” embedded in Bakha that he inherited from his forefathers.
Bakha is “queerly humble” and passively content like a “bottom dog” (Anand 31). This is
clear example of how caste levels and what they symbolize about your station in life can be
internalized and then manifested in your personality and demeanor.
Inter-caste inequality is not only about personal interactions. It is fueled by a set of rules
that limits the lives and rights of outcastes, particularly the untouchables. For example, the
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
outcastes are not allowed to draw their own water from the public well because this would
make the water polluted in the eyes of the upper-caste Hindus. They must prevail upon the
charity of higher-caste people drawing water to share some with them. Particular to the
untouchables is the law of their untouchability. They must take care not to touch those of
other castes, and to shout a warning about their presence wherever they go.
Though the struggle between the caste levels takes precedent in the story, intra-caste
conflict also exists. Gulabo, Ram Charan’s mother, is a great illustration of this. Though she
is an outcaste like Bakha and his family, because she and her family are washer people, they
occupy a higher place within their shared outcaste status than the sweepers. Gulabo uses
her higher station to terrorize Bakha and Sohini. Thus the stratification of the castes isn’t
only an “inter” issue but also an “intra” one.
4. Charity
Charity occupies an interesting place in the world of Untouchable. The outcastes are
dependent on the charity of higher castes for fresh water (Anand 50), food (Anand 130),
clothing (Anand 20), etc. Oftentimes the begging of the outcastes is met with derision and
anger by the higher castes. This uncharitable reaction is shortsighted when considering that
outcastes must beg for water since the caste system deems them unworthy of drawing their
own. The higher castes are unable to see the poverty of the outcaste is their own doing, not
that of the outcaste.
On the other hand, in order to maintain their current status and/or rise in the caste
hierarchy in the next life, Hindus must perform acts of charity. The Brahmins and the
Kshatriyas, the two upper castes in Hindu society, claim they earned their positions because
of all the good deeds they did in previous lives. So in a way the higher castes are dependent
on charity as well.
5. Cyclical Oppression
The suffering of the outcastes is cyclical, generational, and perpetual. This is the idea that is
at the center of Untouchable, the idea that Anand seeks to highlight and criticize. The Hindu
caste system and the stigmas it casts upon the outcastes ensure that they stay poor and
destitute while the other castes maintain their higher standings and better lifestyles. The
inability of the outcastes to draw their own water from the community well or even gather
together the funds to build their own well ensures they will always be dependent on
charitable Hindus for water (Anand 43). Shopkeepers and food vendors charge outcastes
higher prices, “as if to compensate themselves for the pollution they [court] by dealing with
outcastes” (Anand 87). This is nonsensical, making poor people that lack money pay more
than rich people with money, and yet is somehow justified in the eyes of the higher castes.
Furthermore, because teachers refuse to teach untouchables for fear of pollution, most of
them cannot read and so must pay to have texts read to them or letters written (Anand 74).
The answer would be teachers that are untouchable, but who would first teach them? Here
we see the cyclical nature of the outcaste’s plight.
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
The life of the outcaste is cyclical not only because it is perpetuated by corrupt interpersonal
dealings, but also because it is generational. The oppression and terrible life standards the
outcastes face persist across generations. Bakha began working in the latrines as a sweeper
at the age of 6, same as his father, his grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. (Anand 75). His
status and life as a sweeper was inherited and passed down by his forefathers. Unless
untouchability is abandoned, the Hindu caste system eradicated, and the unequal treatment
of outcastes stopped, Bakha’s children will pick up the cross their father bears.
6. The Untouchable’s Responsibility/Burden
Deeply intertwined with the themes of class struggle and cyclical oppression is the idea of
the untouchable’s responsibility or the untouchable’s burden. Aside from their job as
sweeper, the untouchables are also tasked with ensuring they don’t touch higher-caste
people and higher-caste people don’t touch them. Bakha first mentions this responsibility
after he bumps into a caste man. Surrounded by a mob of angry Hindus, Bakha realizes that
“he was surrounded by a barrier, not a physical barrier… but a moral one. He knew that
contact with him, if he pushed through, would defile a great many more of [the] men”
(Anand 92). Instead of the burden being on the men to make sure they don’t touch Bakha,
he is the one that must take care. Bakha reinforces this idea when he apologizes to the man
he bumps into and says, “I have erred now. I forgot to call. I beg your forgiveness” (Anand
94). The call Bakha refers to is “Posh keep away, posh, sweeper coming, posh posh…”
(Anand 98). Untouchables must shout this as they walk to notify others of their approach.
Not only must they clean up the refuse of others, they must also protect the cleanliness of
others.
The untouchable’s burden is another means of keeping the untouchable suppressed. This is
best illustrated by Sohini’s brush with Pundit Kali Nath in the temple. Here we have a Hindu
high-caste man that willingly touched Sohini in an amorous manner. When she rejected him,
Nath cried “polluted, polluted” and accused Sohini of defiling him (Anand 120). Because she
is an untouchable, Sohini has no means of defending herself. She cannot argue that Nath
touched her of his own volition, because such a defense would make no sense to Hindus
that observe the caste system. Making bodily contact negligence on the part of the
untouchable and not the caste person allows sexual assaults like Sohini’s to be permissible.
This is another example of the class struggles between untouchables and caste people, and
another way untouchables are reduced to a subhuman status.
7. Religion
Religion is the thread that connects all of the themes in Untouchable. Anand uses clothing
to separate the Hindus from the Muslims from the Christians. The rejection of Indian roots is
in part made manifest by the conversion of Indians from Hinduism to Christianity. The class
struggles between the different caste levels and the cyclical oppression the outcastes
experience is rooted in the hierarchy Hinduism created, as is the need for the higher castes
to be charitable. Furthermore, Bakha sees his responsibility of alerting the world to his
presence as a moral obligation.
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
There are a few ways that religion acts as an explicit mediator between the characters of
Untouchable as well. Of course Hinduism influences interactions such as Gulabo’s with
Sohini and Bakha’s with the caste man he touches. There are other examples however.
Colonel Hutchinson’s interest in Bakha is fueled by his belief that Bakha wishes to convert to
Christianity. Also, though alienated from his father Lahka, Bakha feels a connection to him
when thinking about how his father, his mother, and their forefathers all worshipped Rama,
god of the Hindus (Anand 244). While religion is a source of the many issues the novel
grapples with, it is also the force that brings our characters into contact with one another.
Untouchable Important Quotes
1. "He didn't feel sad, however, to think that she was dead. He just couldn't summon
sorrow to the world he lived in, the world of his English clothes and 'Red-Lamp'
cigarettes, because it seemed she was not of that world, had no connection with it."
(Page 14)
As the novel begins, Bakha identifies more strongly with the British—who he emulates in
mannerism and dress—than with Indian culture. His desire to be British is so strong that
his mother's death does not seem to him connected to the world in which he actually
lives. Until he begins his day of persecution as an Untouchable, he can forget that he is a
member of the lowest caste, even though his family has been Untouchable for
generations.
2. "A soft smile lingered on his lips, the smile of a slave overjoyed at the condescension
of his master, more akin to pride than to happiness." (Page 17)
After Charat Singh offers to give Bakha a hockey stick, Bakha smiles. But there are few
signs in the novel that he ever experiences real happiness. The Untouchables are unused
to kindness, compliments, or gifts. Bakha smiles because someone higher has deigned to
stoop to his level, not because he is being treated as an equal.
3. ”He worked unconsciously. This forgetfulness or emptiness persisted in him over long
periods. It was a sort of insensitivity created in him by the kind of work he had to do, a
tough skin which must be a shield against all the most awful sensations." (Page 20)
Bakha's work is so menial, dull, and dirty, that he blocks it out in self-defense even as he
does it. Because he was born Untouchable, he is not able to aspire to more than the most
awful sensations described in the quote. To be an Untouchable is to be forgetful and
empty as a matter of survival.
4. “Get up, ohe you Bakhya, you son of a pig.” (Lakha, Page 23)
These words serve as Bakha’s wake-up call; they are the start of his day. With the insult
“you son of a pig,” Lakha shows his abusive nature towards his children but is also
unintentionally funny. Not only does Lakha call himself a pig, he also shows his hypocrisy
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
when he orders his son to wake up while he remains comfortably ensconced in his bed.
This quote is a prime example of the violent language motif and Lakha’s laziness.
5. "'A bit superior to his job,’ they always said, ‘not the kind of man who ought to be
doing this.” (Unnamed onlookers, Page 29)
The “he” the onlookers are talking about is Bakha. They comment on how ill suited Bakha
is for the job of the sweeper. Not because he is too small or incapable, but because the
work seems beneath him. He is superior to the job; he doesn’t deserve to have such a
degrading job. With the phrase “not the kind of man who ought to be doing this,” the
onlookers illustrate that sweeping is a job for certain type of people, people that are
inferior to the rest of society. Bakha’s outward demeanor distinguishes him from other
sweepers that (from the perspective of the onlookers) deserve the punishing life of a
sweeper.
6. “‘Kala admi zamin par hagne wala’ (black man, you who relieve yourself on the
ground).” (Tommies, Page 35)
Here the Tommies are addressing Hindu people that conduct their bathroom business in
the open areas outside of Bulahshah instead of visiting the latrines. The cultural
differences between the Hindus and the British are thrown into relief in this quote. Bakha
believes that Hindus who relieve themselves in public should be embarrassed and
shameful because anyone, especially the British, can see them and criticize them. Here we
see how Bakha uses the opinions of the British as a litmus test and model for his own
opinions. This is a perfect example of the rejection of Indian roots theme.
7. “'Keep to the side of the road, you low-caste vermin!’ he suddenly heard someone
shouting at him. ‘Why don’t you call, you swine, and announce your approach! Do you
know you have touched me and defiled me, you cockeyed son of a bow-legged
scorpion ! Now I will have to go and take a bath to purify myself. And it was a new
dhoti and shirt I put on this morning!” (High-caste man, Page 89)
The events surrounding this diatribe against Bakha is the climax of Untouchable and the
novel’s major pivot point in terms of plot and literary elements. Bakha’s day and the
micro-aggressions he experiences before his brush with the high-caste man all lead up to
this explosive exchange. Everything that occurs after this point traces back to this run-in at
the town square and/or is impacted by it. In terms of literary elements, several of the
novels major themes and motifs are demonstrated in this excerpt. The high-caste man
references the untouchable’s responsibility/burden when he asks why Bakha does not call
and announce his approach. His aggressive, derogatory language towards Bakha is a clear
example of the class struggle theme and the violent language motif.
8. “Posh keep away, posh, sweeper coming, posh, posh, sweeper coming, posh, posh,
sweeper coming!” (Bakha, Page 98)
This is the warning Bakha must shout whenever he approaches an area populated by caste
people. This chant is the epitome of the untouchable’s burden and is a good example of
the literary device repetition. After neglecting to call out and being soundly reprimanded
for it, Bakha begins to call out his warning feverously. At this point he still shaken because
of the verbal and physical attacks he received, but his responsibility to the other castes
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
comes before his own well-being. It is arguable that the entire existence of the outcastes
is one of sacrifice for the greater good. They are shunned and hated in exchange for
clearing away waste so everyone can have some sort of cleanliness.
9. “Why are we always abused?” (Bakha, page 98)
This plaintive cry of Bakha’s is tragic and rhetorical. He is asking why the rest of Hindu
society singles out and victimizes untouchables. This question is significant because it
illustrates Bakha’s genuine despair and confusion about his life as an untouchable.
Furthermore, it shows that despite what his father says and how society treats him, Bakha
refuses to believe that being an untouchable makes him inferior to others, or deserving of
their abuse.
10. “For them I am a sweeper, sweeper — untouchable! Untouchable! Untouchable!
That’s the word! Untouchable! I am an Untouchable!" (Bakha, page 100)
The repetition of “untouchable” in this quote helps to convey Bakha’s anguish and anger
regarding the slap he receives from the high-caste man. After asking rhetorically why he is
abused, he answers his own question by reaffirming his status as a sweeper, as an
untouchable. This quote is significant because in addition to evoking the class struggle
theme it also depicts an eureka moment for Bakha. In this moment he truly realizes that
to be an untouchable in Hindu society is to be a second-class citizen. Before, it was
something he knew distantly, something hovering in his subconscious. Now, following the
slap from the high-caste man, his untouchability is something Bakha knows intimately and
consciously.
11. “It was a discord between person and circumstance by which a lion like him lay
enmeshed in a net while many a common criminal wore a rajah’s crown. ” (The
Narrator, Page 182)
Bakha is the “him” in the quote that the unidentified narrator describes. The narrator
points out the unfairness and randomness of the caste system, a system under which
someone like Bakha is enslaved while worse men than him live like kings. Using the image
of the lion in a simile about Bakha is powerful because it ascribes to Bakha all the qualities
of a lion—strength, regality, pride, etc. Alternatively, the imagery of a criminal wearing a
raja’s crown (i.e., a prince’s crown) brings to mind scoundrels like Pundit Kali Nath who
have high positions in society but are actually the worst kind of men.
12. “It was with difficulty, however, that he prevented himself from stumbling, for his soul
was full of love and adoration and worship for the man who had thought it fit to
entrust him, an unclean menial, with the job and his eyes were turned inwards.” (The
Narrator, Page 207)
After Charat Singh asks Bakha to fill his smoking pipe with coal, Bakha is filled with awe
and wonder. This is a task most people would refuse to give to an untouchable, for fear of
contamination. The significance of this quote is manifold. One, it shows that not every
Hindu adheres to the rigid laws of the caste system. While Charat Singh doesn’t treat
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
Bakha as an equal, he also doesn’t treat him as if the young man is subhuman. By doing
this Singh is undermining the Hindu religion in favor of his own morals and beliefs. Two, it
shows Bakha’s paradoxical and complicated relationship to his sweeper and untouchable
status. In some situations Bakha clearly hates being treated different just because he
clears waste. In others, such as this moment with Singh, he shows that he has internalized
certain prejudiced thoughts and stereotypes. For example, in this quote he describes
himself as “an unclean menial," even though he takes such pains to remain clean and
presentable. And three, this quote illustrates how starved Bakha is for respect and kind
treatment from the people that populate his life.
13. “And they can do that soon, for the first thing we will do when we accept the machine,
will be to introduce the machine which clears dung without anyone having to handle
it—the flush system. Then the sweepers can be free from the stigma of untouchability
and assume the dignity of status that is their right as useful members of a casteless
and classless society.” (Iqbal Nath Sarshar, page 302)
This passage is Untouchable’s “light at the end of the tunnel.” It paints a picture of a
coming future where sweepers like Bakha and his family will no longer be needed and can
perhaps find different employment. Though the advent of the flush system may not be
revolutionary for Bakha’s generation because they are already untouchable in the eyes of
other Hindus, perhaps life will be different for the generations to come. This passage is
connected to the rejection of Indian roots theme because only by abandoning the current,
traditional means of clearing waste and adopting the modern, mechanized way can
untouchables have a chance at liberation from untouchability.
Untouchable Metaphors and Similes
Bakha’s Father (Simile)
Anand makes liberal use of similes in Untouchable. One of the most effective of these is a
simile comparing the voice of Bakha’s father to a bullet searching for its target. This simile is
particularly striking because of the violent language Lakha uses with his children. The simile
shows how the delivery of Lakha’s words is a mirror of the words’ mean-spirited, aggressive
content.
Bakha’s Work Ethic (Simile)
A plethora of similes are used to describe Bakha’s work ethic when he is cleaning the
latrines. His active engagement with his task is likened to the constant flow of water from a
spring. His muscles when working “seem to shine forth like glass,” and his disposition is “as
easy as a wave sailing away on a deep-bedded river” (Anand 29). In all of these examples
Bakha is light and easy. Taken all together, these three similes suggest that while Bakha may
hate aspects of his life as an untouchable, he derives some level of pride and pleasure from
Notes on Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
his job. Others may look down upon his job as a sweeper and persecute him for it, but
Bakha doesn’t necessarily think that the act of sweeping warrants such derision and hatred.
Ancestral Connections (Simile)
When thinking about his “countless outcaste ancestors,” Bakha imagines the connection
between himself and them as “fixed, yet flowing like a wave, confirmed at the beginning of
each generation” (Anand 127). This simile suggests that the connection is primordial,
natural, and enduring, something that has withstood the passage of time. It alludes to
Bakha’s and his siblings’ inherited untouchability, a status that is fixed and confirmed at the
beginning of each generation by the Hindu caste system.
Burning the Refuse (Metaphor)
The burning of refuse is a metaphor for the power to eradicate and destroy. After collecting
the refuse from the latrines, Bakha must take it to a pyre for burning. As he burns the waste,
Bakha feels powerful. He thinks, “the burning flame seemed to ally itself with him. It
seemed to give him a sense of power, the power to destroy. It seemed to infuse into him a
masterful instinct” (Anand 39). This passage suggests that when he is burning the waste,
Bakha believes he can be a figure of destruction, imbued with the ability to destroy anything
that stands in his path.
Trampling Blades of Grass (Metaphor)
After Gandhi’s speech, the crowd disperses and walks over patches of garden bowers.
Anand describes this grass as being planted by the Hindu kings but henceforth neglected
and now trampled under the feet of Gandhi’s progressive listeners. This grass is a metaphor
for the facets of traditional Hindu society and civilization that “must be destroyed in order
to make room for those of the new [civilization].” By trampling the grass, the crowd is
crushing “everything, however beautiful or powerful, that lay in the way of their
achievement of all that Gandhi stood for” (Anand 266). The implication is that one of these
beautiful and powerful things is the Hindu caste system, a system central to Hindu society
since the time of the kings but now something that prevents the progression of the Hindi.