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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Untouchable, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization
Coming of Age and Inherited Prejudice
Nature vs. Society
Bodies and Cleanliness
Summary
Analysis
The outcastes’ colony lies just outside the town of Bulashah, in the Himalayan foothills. Though the area was once clean and pretty, now, the dung of various animals and the lack of a drainage system has made it polluted and unpleasant. There are narrow, cramped houses made of mud and, on the far end of the colony, several rows of public latrines. This is where the leather-workers, washermen, grass-cutters, water-carriers and scavengers live, all deemed outcastes from Hindu society.
Right away, the narrative juxtaposes nature—clean and energizing—with the waste and pollution of human society. The tangible sights and smells of excrement are thus as unavoidable in the story as they are for the outcastes themselves. The higher-caste residents of Bulashah may be able to separate themselves from (or literally cast out) this most unpleasant part of life, but readers will not have this same luxury.
Themes
For 18-year-old Bakha, the son of Jemadar (head scavenger) Lakha, this colony is almost intolerable. After having spent some time working as a servant in the British barracks, Bakha has gotten used to the glamourous “Tommie” lifestyle. And because the Tommies treated him with kindness, Bakha now feels superior to his fellow outcastes. The only outcastes he respects are Chota, a leather-worker’s son, and Ram Charan, a washerman’s son. All three of the young men spend their time copying the English, oiling their hair, playing hockey and smoking cigarettes.
Bakha’s fantasies of British life, which he shares with his friends, signal his childlike view of the world; at 18, he has not yet adopted his father’s hardened view toward their circumstances. At the same time, the boys’ obsession with British garb and traditions shows just how deeply they have internalized racial and colonial hierarchies, copying the English rather than challenging their power. Though Bakha does not know it yet, the timing of the story—on the eve of India’s independence movement—makes these sharp obsessions both ironic and foreboding.
Themes
This morning, Bakha is woken up by the cold. Though the English blanket he uses is not warm enough, Bakha is a “child of modern India”; having observed the British for so long, he feels an overwhelming desire to “look like a sahib,” even when his father Lakha scolds him. Bakha has received some English items as charity from Tommies and sepoys, but the rest of the English clothes and objects he covets he can only purchase at the rag-store. Though Bakha often admires the items there, for years, he never found the courage to ask the shopkeeper for any prices—after all, he wouldn’t be able to afford anything.
Bakha’s willingness to shiver to feel more English shows that his fascination with the British does truly cause him harm (even if, in this moment, it is only on a small scale). Moreover, Bakha’s commitment to spending what little money he has on English clothing suggests that such dress allows him to symbolically surpass his own society’s strict hierarchy; he may not be able to aspire to being a higher-caste Hindu, but at least he can “look like a sahib.”
Themes
Finally, after earning some money at the barracks, Bakha had enough to buy a jacket, a blanket, and a pack of cigarettes. Though he knows there is nothing else English about him, it gives Bakha great pride to wear these European garments. At this moment, however, he is freezing, so he resolves to buy another blanket so his father will stop mocking him. Bakha feels frustrated with “old” Lakha’s refusal to learn about the new English ways, not to mention his refusal to let Bakha play games with his friends.
By focusing so much on English clothing at the very beginning of the story, the novel emphasizes just how vital this symbolic garb is to Bakha’s larger worldview. Crucially, Lakha’s disdain for this clothing reflects both his more traditional values and his hesitation to buck his village’s pecking order. Throughout the narrative, Bakha will increasingly challenge his father’s acceptance of their circumstances.
Themes
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Sure enough, Lakha wakes up and immediately orders Bakha to go clean the latrines, even though Bakha’s younger brother Rakha and his younger sister Sohini are still asleep. Bakha thinks back to the morning of his mother’s death, when he had faked sleep and thus angered his father. Bakha also recalls the milky tea his mother used to make him every morning. The tea was so delicious that Bakha’s mouth would start watering before bed, just anticipating his treat the next morning. After his mother’s death, this tea and so many other “splendrous details” of his life died, too.
The entire novel is set in a single day, so the level of “detail” on every page is striking. But Bakha’s longing here makes clear that the details of his new life, after the loss of his mother, no longer hold any pleasure or warmth. In other words, whereas Bakha’s mother worked to make the best of their tricky situation, Bakha now can only lament the job caste and class his situation has forced him into.
Themes
Bakha rises, deciding that he does not feel sad about his mother’s death because her own life was so far from his modern world of cigarettes and English clothes. He goes to the latrines, shocked by how cold and congested he feels. A small, thin man yells at Bakha to clean the latrines immediately, as they are all dirty. Bakha recognizes the man as Havildar Charat Singh, a well-known local hockey player who suffers from “piles” (hemorrhoids).
There are two vital ideas in this passage. First, Bakha’s use of English clothing and cigarettes to distance himself from the pain of his mother’s death adds a new significance to this symbol: when he wears the Tommies’ garments, Bakha can imagine himself not only out of his circumstances but away from his thorniest feelings. Second, Charat Singh’s “piles” make it clear that, despite whatever artificial caste distinctions high-status villagers try to introduce, everyone’s body is equally subject to waste and discomfort.
Themes
Bakha goes to work, cleaning the latrines skillfully and with great physical strength. Even though the work is dirty, Bakha remains clean; his focus lends him a look of distinction. When he emerges from the latrines half an hour later, Havildar Charat Singh is surprised to see a sweeper be so clean. At first Charat Singh sneers at Bakha, the familiar gesture of high-caste prejudice—but then Charat Singh relaxes, forgetting his bias and letting out a “childlike laugh.”
The novel will often point to Bakha’s handsomeness and grace to emphasize the arbitrariness of the caste system. It is also worth noting how the narrative equates Charat Singh’s “childlike” behavior with his ability to temporarily forget caste; over and over again, the story will assert that caste is something grown into, a set of biases that children are too young and innocent to have internalized.
Themes
Charat Singh playfully mocks Bakha for his attempts to look English, and though there is warmth in the hockey player’s voice, his patronizing grin still reflects “six thousand years of racial and class superiority.” Thrillingly, Charat Singh tells Bakha that he will give him a hockey stick later in the day. Bakha expresses his gratitude and, newly energized, throws himself into his work, as if this “generous promise had called forth that trait of servility in Bakha which he had inherited from his forefathers.”
Though Charat Singh’s hockey stick offer seems to signal warmth, this exchange paradoxically affirms rather than disrupts caste divides. Charat Singh’s grin makes him feel superior, just as Bakha becomes “servile” with gratitude for the stick. The word “inherited” once more testifies to the idea that caste prejudice is passed down and hardened over time.
Themes
Bakha continues to clean the latrines as different men come through, mostly “Hindus” (meaning non-outcaste Hindus) and the occasional “Muhammadan” (Muslim). On the one hand, Bakha wants to be done with his work, but on the other hand, it provides him a comforting “intoxication.” When a cramp forces Bakha to pause, he reflects that his time in the British barracks has made him judge Indians for the way they wash themselves. Even though the British customs are no less strange, Bakha accepts them as superior—“whatever they did was ‘fashun.’”
Muslims, or Muhammadans (as Bakha will always refer to them), are also outside the Hindu caste system, though they are able to hold higher-status position than sweepers like Bakha are. Bakha’s misspelling of “fashun” further points to his desire to copy a British tradition and style he does not quite understand.
Themes
Bakha is interrupted in his reverie when a villager scolds him that all the latrines are dirty again. Bakha goes back to work, clearing his mind as much as he can; he has developed this strategy to cope with the “awful sensations” associated with his task. The hard labor has made Bakha’s body strong, and others often reflect that there is nobility in his form—“here is a man.”
Many of the other men in the narrative, from Lakha to Charat Singh to (later) Pundit Kali Nath, are at the mercy of their bowel movements and bodily desires. But despite his low position in society, Bakha’s masculine strength seems unmatched, as he is able to distance himself from the “awful sensations” associated with cleaning human waste.
Themes
Bakha burns the excrement he has swept up, then heads home, where he sees that his sister Sohini is struggling to light a fire. Bakha helps Sohini, blowing onto the fire with his strong lungs. Thirsty from his day’s labor, Bakha asks for water, but Sohini informs him that they are out. Sohini goes to get more water from the well, balancing the family’s pitcher on her head as she walks away. Bakha admires Sohini’s figure while she walks, acknowledging that his feelings for her might not be “altogether that of a brother for a sister.”
Bakha’s sexual desire for Sohini sounds a discordant note with the rest of his characterization. While the novel mostly emphasizes Bakha’s physical and moral assets, the oft-repeated suggestion that Bakha has incestual feelings for his sister hints that Anand might not be entirely free from the caste prejudices he writes about.
Themes
Since the outcastes are not allowed to draw directly from the well (because “Hindus” would view that as “polluting”), they depend on higher-status villagers to get water for them. Waiting for these villagers, and navigating this awkward request, is always anxiety-inducing for Sohini. At all times of day, there is a group of outcastes surrounding the well, clamoring for water. Today, for example, there are nine people in front of Sohini in line.
There is perhaps nothing more basic than the right to water—so the fact that outcastes are denied water emphasizes just how unequal and untenable this society is. As Sohini’s experience in line shows, for outcastes, there is a high degree of difficulty and shame associated with even the most quotidian tasks. The idea that outcastes are “polluting,” grounded in the high-caste belief that outcastes are dirty because they must deal with others’ waste, will become a common refrain throughout the novel.
Themes
Gulabo, a washerwoman and Ram Charan’s mother, is one of those in line. She had once been beautiful, but her beauty has faded with age; now, she resents Sohini for her youth and loveliness. Gulabo starts screaming at Sohini to go home, calling her a “prostitute” and enlisting other women in line to join her taunts. When Sohini laughs nervously, it only further inflames Gulabo, who tries to hit Sohini. Fortunately, she is stopped by one of the other women waiting for water.
In the hierarchy of outcaste life, washerwomen like Gulabo (who deal with laundry) rank more highly than sweepers like Sohini. Unfortunately, Gulabo’s rage toward Sohini demonstrates how the strictly hierarchical system breaks down solidarity rather than unifying the outcastes; denied so much privilege in the wider community, Gulabo seeks to flaunt her slightly higher status however she can.
Themes
Things settle down, though Sohini still cannot bear the midday heat or the embarrassment of Gulabo’s taunts. Gulabo, too, continues to complain, regretting that all of this is happening on the morning of her son’s wedding day. A sepoy passes the well, but he refuses to stop for the outcastes. Eventually, Pundit Kali Nath, one of the priests in charge of the town’s temple, agrees to help the outcastes—not because he wants to be generous, but because he thinks the exercise might help him be less constipated.
Just as Charat Singh had “piles,” Pundit Kali Nath—a Brahmin priest, and thus one of the highest-status members of society—is concerned primarily with his own bowel movements. By portraying this priest as selfish and focused only on his own physical sensations, the narrative challenges the premise behind caste hierarchy: if someone at the very top can be so focused on his bowels, why are the outcastes the only people associated with excrement?
Themes
As the Pundit lifts the water, he wonders which of the foods he ate recently could be to blame for his bowel problems. The water is heavier than he is used to, but he does feel that lifting the filled bucket is helping with his constipation. At last, he gets the bucket out of the well, knowing that he will need to go to the bathroom soon. Gulabo demands to be first to get water, and the rest of the outcastes rush towards the well. Only Sohini sits alone, away from the fray.
Again, the depiction of Pundit Kali Nath veers into satire, so great is his obsession with his eating and intestinal habits. Gulabo’s desire to be first speaks to her deep-seated desire to replicate existing caste distinctions within the outcaste community, even as she is being forced to beg for the basic right to water.
Themes
The Pundit notices Sohini, and he feels a twinge of desire at her innocent look and full breasts. He chooses to give her water first, and though Sohini is grateful, she fears Gulabo’s jealousy. The Pundit instructs Sohini that she should come to the temple later that day to clean the courtyard. Sohini agrees and rushes away. On her way out, she runs into Lachman, a young Brahmin who has long nursed a crush on Sohini. But when the Pundit notices Lachman looking at Sohini’s body, he quickly shuts any potential flirtation down.
The Pundit’s fascination with his bodily sensations now takes on a new valence, as his desire to relieve himself gives way to a foreboding desire to have sex with Sohini. And to further challenge ideas that those further up the caste hierarchy are purer, the narrative introduces a second Brahmin, Lachman, who seems to have similarly lustful thoughts.
Themes
When Sohini returns home, her father is shouting at her for taking so long to get water. Complaining of a pain in his side, Lakha sends Bakha to sweep the streets in his stead. Bakha knows that his father is faking the pain, but he doesn’t mind getting to sweeping instead of cleaning latrines. Before Bakha goes out to sweep, Sohini makes tea. Though Bakha’s father drinks this tea slowly, as is the Indian custom, Bakha rushes through his tea, burning his tongue because that is what the Tommies do.
Lakha’s cruelty toward his children might be similar to Gulabo’s anger at Sohini: in both cases, these disempowered adults try to claim some sense of control over whoever seems even more vulnerable. Bakha’s desire to rush through his tea, as the British do, stands in stark contrast to his memories of tea when his mother was alive. Therefore, Bakha’s new approach to drinking this hot liquid once more conflates his obsession with the British with his desire to distance himself from his grief over his mother.
Themes
After his meal, Bakha goes outside, basking in the sun and recalling memories of childhood sunbathing sessions. For a moment, he is able to imagine that there is nothing on earth but him and the sun. Bakha realizes that Ram Charan, Chota, and his brother Rakha have all observed him talking to himself; now, they will make fun of him as they always do, teasing him for his English clothes even though they wear same ones. In return, Bakha makes fun of Ram Charan for his mean mother Gulabo and his pretty younger sister.
The sun allows Bakha to gain some separation from the arbitrary, invented injustices of life in human society. This symbol of natural peace is particularly poignant when contrasted with the status-obsessed banter Bakha engages in with his friends. Notably, all these young men are embarrassed by their fascination with English clothes, suggesting some ambivalence toward this colonial force (even if it is subconscious).
Themes
Ram Charan informs Bakha that today is his sister’s wedding day, and Bakha teases his friend for his pretentious outfit. The other outcastes are also out on the street, silently taking in the sun, but Bakha does not need language to feel connected to them. This silence, “the silence of death fighting for life,” is common in the outcaste community, though Bakha’s youthful presence always injects some energy and optimism into his neighbors’ days.
Again, the sun emerges as a powerful symbol of life and energy. It is also important to see the link between Bakha himself and the sun: both are revitalizing forces for this community, and both are almost scorching in their bright intensity. As the novel progresses, Bakha will begin to align his actions and feelings even more closely with the sun’s movements.
Themes
Ram Charan and Chota try to convince Bakha to come play hockey, but he is firm that he needs to sweep the streets. Two younger boys, the sons of a higher-caste babu, appear. Bakha and his friends often play hockey with the elder brother (though they exclude the younger brother); today, they try to convince the brothers to lend them their hockey sticks. The elder brother in particular tends to ignore caste divides, playing with outcastes even though his mother chides him for it.
A babu, or a high-caste Hindu who can read and write in both English and Hindi, would be several rungs above Bakha on the social ladder. The fact that this babu’s children are so eager to play with the outcastes then reiterates that caste prejudice is something people learn over time—children, interested only in games and friends and pleasure, have yet to absorb these biases.
Themes
Now, though, the brothers are on their way to school. Bakha once wanted to go to school, before he learned that outcaste children were not allowed. Still, dreaming of becoming a sahib, Bakha bought a primer and tried to teach himself to read (though he gave up after learning the alphabet). Today, Bakha decides to ask the two sons of the babu to teach him to read, volunteering to pay them for a lesson a day. The elder brother agrees, and Bakha heads off, overjoyed.
Now, the list of rights denied to outcastes comes into focus: by depriving outcastes of education in addition to basic needs like food and water, the higher-caste Hindus ensure that there will be no social mobility at all in their village. Seen in that frame, the elder brother’s decision to teach Bakha to read has somewhat radical implications, as it could disrupt the carefully preserved Bulashah hierarchy.
Themes
Bakha now begins to sweep the streets, resenting the Municipal Committee for failing to live up to their promise of paving this part of town. He passes a funeral procession, and several shops filled with Muslim, Hindu, and British wares. Bakha stops to buy a packet of ‘Red-Lamp’ cigarettes, and the shop-keeper throws his money at Bakha, not wanting to so much as graze his hand. Too late, Bakha realizes he has forgotten to get a match, but he is too ashamed to go back to the same stall to ask for one.
Bakha’s cigarette purchase affirms two of the novel’s truisms. First, Bakha is almost single-minded in his pursuit of all things British (like the ‘Red-Lamp’ brand). Second, the shopkeeper exemplifies how hypocritical higher-caste Hindus can be: the shop-keeper will take Bakha’s money, but he will not touch Bakha’s hand (likely because he views Bakha as “polluted”).
Themes
Bakha knows that smoking is considered presumptuous for a sweeper, but he wants to smoke like rich people do. Fortunately, a nearby Muslim shopkeeper gives Bakha a light, and Bakha reflects that Muslims are similarly barred from so much of Hindu society. Bakha then makes his way through the bazaar, marveling at the various colors and fabrics and scents, “a pleasant aroma oozing from so many unpleasant things” (like pungent spices and decaying vegetables).
This is not the last time in the narrative that Bakha will find solace and solidarity in a Muslim villager; because both groups are outcaste but neither is in direct competition with each other (unlike with sweepers and washermen), each is able to offer the other rare comfort.
Themes
Bakha sees the spice-shop owner but avoids his gaze, as Lakha owes this man money. Bakha then goes to admire some fine cotton cloth—the material the sahibs wear, though Bakha cannot afford it. Lastly, Bakha goes to the sweetshop, where he takes in all the syrupy delicacies before deciding to buy four annas’ worth of jalebis, the cheapest dessert in the store. The shopkeeper smirks at this, thinking that “no-one save a greedy low-caste man” would ever buy this many jalebis.
Again, the sweet-shop owner is eager to profit from Bakha even as he demeans him. Bakha’s trip through the bazaar also epitomizes the dueling emotions of his life. On the one hand, Bakha constantly feels this aspiration toward all things British; on the other hand, Bakha is always filled with shame and anxiety about his status, lack of wealth, or family. Implicitly, then, the desire for British garb seems to come directly out of this embarrassment.
Themes
The sweet-shop man packages the jalebis, throwing them at Bakha and naming his price. Bakha knows that he is being overcharged, but he nevertheless relishes the sweets, popping one and then another into his mouth. Bakha leaves the bazaar. As he walks, he notices the various advertisements around the village streets, and he wishes again that he could read. He also notices a beautiful woman sitting in a window, and lets his gaze be drawn to her.
Earlier, Bakha lamented that all the “splendrous detail” in his life had died off with his mother, but here, he finds pleasure simply in noticing the nuances of his surroundings. Bakha’s ability to take pleasure in sensory experience and sharp observation is one of the things that sustains him through his unimaginably onerous work.
Themes
Suddenly, someone is yelling at Bakha, calling him “low-caste vermin” and a “swine.” Bakha immediately plasters a smile onto his face, but the man will not stop screaming about how now he must wash himself, how his plans for the day have been derailed. As the touched man’s cries get louder, a group of higher-caste Hindus forms around Bakha. Bakha realizes that he cannot escape. If he touches any of these people while trying to get by, the abuse he is suffering now will only double.
If the previous paragraph demonstrated Bakha’s ability to find happiness even in unhappy circumstances, the touched man’s accusations bring Bakha back to harsh reality. In addition to food, water, and education, peace is another thing that higher-caste Hindus deny to outcastes; as this passage demonstrates, Bakha’s moment of enjoyment is enough to incense a crowd, who see his mere presence and touch as “polluting.”
Themes
The rest of the onlookers join in, mocking Bakha’s sahib dress and lamenting that outcastes now dream of having higher status. Two children even accuse Bakha of hitting them in the past, though he has done no such thing. But when Bakha tries to defend himself against this falsehood, the onlookers just scream louder. Bakha feels that his legs might give out with panic.
Though Bakha is not yet conscious of it, he is living through the era of Gandhi’s anti-caste activism—so the hysteria the touched man exhibits here is just as much about a large-scale sociopolitical change as it is about his passing interaction with Bakha.
Themes
A tonga-wallah (rickshaw) drives up, scattering the crowd. Rather than move out of the way for the rickshaw, however, the touched man smacks Bakha across the face, knocking his turban off of his head and scattering his jalebis. Bakha begins to cry and to think about revenge. But the rickshaw driver stops him, encouraging Bakha simply to tie his turban and move on.
Perhaps nowhere else in the novel makes the paradox of high-caste status so clear: the touched man is terrified of being physically “polluted,” but he is undeniably morally dirty, destroying Bakha’s food and knocking his clothes off his body. Because the rickshaw driver is Muslim, this scene marks another moment of solidarity between those outside of the caste system.
Themes
Bakha continues sweeping, announcing himself as he goes: “posh, keep away, posh, sweeper coming.” But though he shows outward humility, inside, Bakha is seething. As he replays the horrific confrontation, he alternates between blaming himself for not announcing his presence and blaming the touched man for his violent reaction. The higher-caste Hindus “always abuse us,” Bakha thinks, “because we touch dung. They hate dung. I hate it too.”
Bakha is at war with himself. To some extent, he has absorbed Lakha’s logic, which teaches that the caste system is grounded in religious principle and unalterable truths about superiority and inferiority. But Bakha also knows that he shares more with the rest of his village than anyone might care to admit—after all, everyone in Bulashah “hates dung” equally, just as everyone produces it equally.
Themes
Bakha laments that his jalebis are gone, though he thinks with a great deal of tenderness about the rickshaw driver’s intervention. With a rush, the word “untouchable” pops into his head, a term that seems to make sense of every humiliation he has ever suffered in his life. Again, Bakha notes that Muslims and British people show none of the cruelty towards sweepers that other outcastes and higher-caste Hindus do. Bakha continues his work, though he feels self-conscious, as if everyone around him is watching him.
In this passage, which gives the novel its title, Bakha examines the isolation that goes along with his outcaste status—he is untouchable and thus unable to integrate into the world around him, a pain that will repeat throughout the story. Bakha’s reflections that Muslim and British people do not share these biases once more underscores the invented, arbitrary nature of the caste system.
Themes
