Equal by Law, Unequal by Caste: The Role of Social Resistance in the Select Novels of Mulk Raj Anand

Abstract

This research article explores the theme of untouchability as depicted in Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable and The Road, focusing on the social and psychological oppression of the lower castes in traditional Hindu society. The caste system, rooted in Hindu scriptures, divides society into four main categories, with the "untouchables" or lower castes subjected to severe discrimination and exploitation. In Untouchable (1935), the protagonist Bakha, a sweeper, faces harsh social restrictions, including being denied access to public resources like water, and is reliant on the higher castes for survival. The novel critiques the ritualistic purification practices that perpetuate the marginalization of outcastes, as well as the exploitation of women and the hypocrisy of religious figures. In The Road (1961), while some progress has been made, the outcastes still suffer economic exploitation and social inequality in a rural Indian village. Both works highlight the ingrained nature of untouchability, the ignorance of the oppressed, and the inability of lower castes to challenge their fate due to financial dependence on landlords. Through these narratives, Anand critiques the moral failings of the caste system, the exploitation of the oppressed, and the failure of religious and social institutions to address these injustices.