Untouchable
Mulk Raj Anand's novel follows Bakha, a young sweeper navigating the suffocating constraints of caste prejudice in colonial India. Set across a single day, the narrative traces his journey through a world that treats him as less than human, yet glimpses moments where dignity flickers through the darkness. The protagonist encounters various figures who challenge, confound, and sometimes surprise him with unexpected kindness. What emerges is a searing portrait of social exclusion, where even the smallest acts of compassion feel revolutionary. Anand strips away pretence to expose the machinery of discrimination, its casual cruelty woven into everyday interactions. The prose carries an urgent, almost lyrical quality, capturing both Bakha's internal struggles and the bustling streets that deny him belonging. This slim but potent work remains a devastating examination of how societies construct hierarchies of human worth, and why such systems ultimately diminish everyone they touch.
- Author: MULK RAJ ANAND
- Publisher: Penguin India
- Genre: Cultural Studies
- ISBN: 978-0143027805
- Pages: 160 pages