Untouchable, one of the most acclaimed works in Indian English literature, portrays Bakha, a sweeper boy from an untouchable caste, with remarkable realism. E.M. Forster describes him as “a real individual, lovable, thwarted, sometimes grand, sometimes weak, and thoroughly Indian.” The novel depicts Bakha’s physical traits and his dreams of a better life while performing his duties. Anand highlights the struggles of marginalized lower castes before India’s independence, with Bakha symbolizing the oppressed. The book opens with a grim description of the outcasts’ colony, separated from the town. Anand also exposes the hypocrisy of higher caste individuals, such as Pandit Kali Nath.
Untouchable chronicles a day in Bakha’s life, highlighting the hardship and humiliation faced by lower castes. Discontent with his job as a toilet cleaner, Bakha yearns for education. Untouchables are prohibited from touching objects, entering temples, or using wells, and they endure both physical and psychological abuse from higher castes.
Pandit Kalinath even sexually attacked his sister when he summoned her to clean his home’s courtyard. Pandit Kalinath, drawn to Sohini’s beauty, tried to touch her. When she screamed, he blamed her for contaminating him. Bakha arrives, sends Sohini away, and leaves angrily. At home, he tells his father that people view them as dirty because they clean, calling it a curse to be destroyed.Bakha attends Ram Charan’s sister’s wedding, reflecting on his unfulfilled love for a girl he couldn’t marry due to their different social classes. At Havilder Charat Singh’s house, he tries to help an injured child, but the mother chastises him, leaving him ashamed. Inspired by Gandhi’s views on untouchability, Bakha considers three options for a better life: converting to Christianity, embracing Gandhi’s teachings, or using a toilet-flush machine introduced by poet Iqbal Nath Sarshar to end manual cleaning. He believes these changes could improve his life.