Untouchable

Untouchable is a novel by Mulk Raj Anand published in 1935. The novel established Anand as one of India's leading English authors. The book was inspired by his aunt's experience when she had a meal with a Muslim woman and was treated as an outcast by her family. The plot of this book, Anand's first, revolves around the argument for eradicating the caste system. It depicts a day in the life of Bakha, a young "sweeper", who is "untouchable" due to his work of cleaning latrines. Publication history The book was first published in 1935. Later editions carried a foreword written by E. M. Forster. In 2004, a commemorative edition including this book was launched by then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Plot summary Set in the north Indian cantonment town Bulashah, Untouchable presents a day in the life of a young Indian sweeper named Bakha. The son of Lakha, head of all of Bulashah's sweepers, Bakha is intelligent but naïve, humble yet vain. Over Bakha's day, various major and minor tragedies occur, causing him to mature and turn his gaze inward. By the end of the novel, Anand makes a compelling case for the end of untouchability because it is an inhumane, unjust system of oppression. He uses Bakha and the people populating the young man's world to craft his argument. Bakha's day starts with his father yelling at him to get out of bed and clean the latrines. The relationship between the father and son is strained, in part due to Bakha's obsession with the British, in part because of Bakha's laziness. Bakha ignores his father but eventually gets up to answer the demands of a high-caste man that wants to use the bathroom. This man is Charat Singh, a famous hockey player. At first, Singh also yells at Bakha for neglecting his cleaning duties. However, the man has a changeable personality. It isn’t long before he instructs Bakha to come to see him later in the day so he can gift the young sweeper with a prized hockey stick. An overjoyed Bakha agrees.