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A Havildar was a sergeant in the British Indian army, an Indian officer with higher-rank than a sepoy. During the years of the British Raj, Havildars were often placed in charge of a given British fort or barracks. In the novel, Charat Singh earns Bakha’s respect in part because of his status as the only Havildar in the village of Bulashah.
Havildar Quotes in Untouchable
The Untouchable quotes below are all either spoken by Havildar or refer to Havildar. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Pages 73–105
Quotes
There wasn’t a child about the 38th Dogras who hadn't cast lingering eyes at this hat. The spirit of modernity had worked havoc among the youth of the regiment. The consciousness of every child was full of a desire to wear Western dress, and since most of the boys about the place were the sons of babus, bandsmen, sea poise, sweepers, washermen and shopkeepers, all too poor to afford the luxury of a complete European outfit, they eagerly stretched their hands to seize any particular article they could see anywhere, feeling that the possession of something European was better than the possession of nothing European.
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Explanation and Analysis:
[Bakha] walked away without looking back, lest he should prove unequal to the unique honor that the Hindu had done him by entrusting him with so intimate a job as fetching coal in his clay basin. For a moment he doubted whether Charat Singh was conscious and in his senses when he entrusted him with the job. ‘He might be forgetful and suddenly realize what he had done. Did he forget that I am a sweeper?’ […] He was grateful to God that such men as Charat Singh existed. He walked with a steady step, with a happy step, deliberately controlled […]. 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.
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Havildar Term Timeline in Untouchable
The timeline below shows where the term Havildar appears in Untouchable. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 3–43
...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).
(full context)
...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...
(full context)
Pages 73–105
...stops himself short, feeling strange about his obsession with English clothing. Bakha heads to the Havildar’s quarters, trying to shake off his feelings of embarrassment. As always, he is “ashamed of...
(full context)
