Question

write a critical note on the plot construction in untouchable

Answer 1

The novel does  not have any story in traditional  sense. This does not mean that the plot of the novel is not coherent. The unit and coherence of plot comes form the fact that the novel aims to expose  the evil of  untouchability in the Hindu  society. In fact  the plot of  the novels is  very compact. Gandhi advised Anand to remove certain passages from the novel, of which he was highly critical of. Anand talk about this in his much celebrated essay On the Genesis of Untouchable. He says: “In retrospect, I feel that, under the tutelage of  the Mahatma, who did not pretend to be an artist, I was able to exorcise all those self-conscious literary elements which I had woven  into the narrative in anticipation of what the critics might  approve.

Answer 2

Caste system has been well entrenched in Indian society from time immemorial and has brought about worst kind discrimination and exclusion of the out caste group who were subjected to inhuman treatment and injustice. The worst form of social practice followed in India was untouchability, which became evident in many forms:

a. Refusal to touch people belonging to lower castes.

b. Denying interaction with people belonging to lower castes.

c. Denying access to public places to them.

d. Untouchability got reflected in everyday life. For example, in tea stalls separate cups were kept for dalits.

e. Dalit students were made to sit separately in classrooms.

f. Barbers refused to serve dalits.

g. Dalit grooms were not allowed to have marriage processions.

h. Dalits were not allowed to use hand pumps, anything they touched was considered to be polluting it, and was washed thoroughly to purify it.

All the above forms prevented their integration with the rest of the society.

Gandhiji believed that Swaraj would not about, if untouchability was not ​eliminated. He called the untouchables Harijans, as the children of God. He undertook the fowlloing steps to eradicate the sin of untouchability:

(i) He organised satyagraha to secure their entry into temples, access to public wells, tanks, roads, and schools.

(ii) He himself cleaned the toilets to dignify the work of the sweepers.

(iii) He persuaded upper castes to change their heart and give up the ‘sin of untouchability.’