I give you two ideas of dystopias. In the first, there is a world most of humanity is scared of touching even by accident some people - there is no visible reason for it, but the fear is real. Not only you can't touch the person, but you also can't touch things they have touched And this is a source of humiliation for those that can't be touched. In the second, half the population of the world is raised with the idea that the mere sight of their body is an offense to decency. I could go on - and talk about other such worlds - one where guns are left out in open and books are kept in shelves under locks but these whole social issues talk presented as dystopia talk has started boring me already. My point is untouchability is one of those things that should seem too fantastic if it was something imagined and not real - a bit like slavery that way.

Mulk Raj Anand's novella was powerful even for me though, being an Indian, I knew its evils. It shocks me that it is not read more by western readers to whom some scenes would seem really dystopian. The first 70 percent of the novella is quite powerful - even trying to capture its protagonist's stream of consciousness at times. Later, it does turn contemplative though (I have no problem with that but it can be a turn-off for many readers); it seems to conclude that the solutions like conversion to Christianity, Gandhi, or having western toilets can solve the problem.

Unfortunately, that's far from the case. A few weeks back, some upper-caste children at government schools refused to eat food prepared by lower-caste workers. Untouchability had nothing to do with the kind of work people did; it is born of the privileged too willing to think lowly of others in order to think better of themselves.

2 stars not necessarily because i hated this but because i felt pretty indifferent about it

Bakha's single day is Long history of untouchables and dark side of Hinduism . His questions and dreams makes you cry and Hypocrisy of upper cast makes you think what kind of people we had in our past, It's a book which will disturb you.

Just 157 pages and one day in the life of eighteen year old Bakha, a "sweeper" in charge of cleaning three rows of public latrines on the edge of his town. He is an Untouchable.

Bakha starts his day working "earnestly, quickly, without loss of effort". He dreams of the day he will be able to do the work of his father, the head of all the local sweepers and who is responsible for cleaning the streets of the town and the temple courtyard. His wish is fulfilled that very day when his father becomes ill, and he sends Bakha to do his job.

The actual horror of the position of an Untouchable emerges as we see Bakha's sister wait in line with others of her caste for a kind hearted upper caste person who will take the time to fill her water jug; as we watch Bakha, overwhelmed by the sights on the street, forget to call to warn of his approach and accidentally touch a high-caste man. The "Lalla" proceeds to vilify Bakha: "Do you know you have touched me and defiled me, you cock-eyed son of a bow-legged scorpion! Now I will have to go and take a bath to purify myself. And it was a new dhoti and shirt I put on this morning!" And Bakha's day does not improve. He is thrown off the steps of the temple where wandered to listen to the prayers and try to see into the temple although he knew his presence would "pollute" the temple and it would then have to undergo a purification ceremony. He must then go to a row of houses to beg for bread for his family. When finally some is thrown to him, it falls to the ground where he picks it up to bring it home to his father, sister and brother.

Bakha actually displays a love of life that is momentarily depressed by these events, but which rises to the fore over and over. At the end of the day, Bakha is mystified by a Christian missionary who tries to "save" him from his untouchability through Jesus, an unexpected opportunity to hear (but not understand) the great Mahatma Gandhi expound his ideas for changing Indian society, and a local dandy explaining the ultimate solution to the problem of the untouchables--flush toilets. Bakha ruminates on the meaning of it all. Hopeful again, he turns for home to tell his father about Gandhi and the new machine--the flush toilets.

"Untouchable" was a contemporary story. It is still a stirring account of the basic humanity of those members of the lowest castes of Indian society, and the wretchedness of their lives.

Really enjoyed this one!

Just brilliant... the story of a day in the life of a boy from the lowest ranks of the outcastes and the way he has to deal with other outcastes, his own family, poverty, his fellow playmates, the people that he has to serve... Bakha questions his status and he keeps wondering what makes him and his family live a life like that and by the end of the story, he gets the answer. This is one of the most vivid novels I have ever read. Brilliant!

Shows you the old Indian superstitious believes on the basis of caste, creed, religion and status and recognized as Untouchables. The story is conceived in a realistic way which makes it so interesting to read and we get to know how they faced it so hard in their times.

My To-Read books:
1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
2. The Shining by Stephen King
3. The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
6. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
7. The boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
8. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
9. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
10. Carrie by Stephen King

My first book love book this year was "Untouchable", written by Mulk Raj Anand. I choose this novel to help me better understand our human rights unit in our English class. This novel helped me understand the human rights issues we have discussed in our class by exposing me to the wide range of physical and mental abuse humans can face due to their different social classes, race or religion.
This novel has a simple but very uncomfortable, and depressing plot. The novel’s main character is "Bhaka", who is an "untouchable", outcast boy at the very bottom of the caste system.
The whole plot gives events happening in a single day in the life of Bhaka. It exposes the difficult life and struggles of the out-casts or "Untouchable" people. Bhaka doesn’t like to clean the toilets or sweep the streets, he wants to study and be a learned man. The outcasts were not allowed to draw water from wells, enter temples or basically touch anything, as everyone believed that their touch would make anything impure and corrupt. Bhaka and many others are were mentally and physically abused by their upper caste Hindus.
In the end of the novel, Mulk Raj Anand presents three answers to Bhaka's issue. Bhaka is offered to accept Christianity that has no caste system, and so in this way he will no longer be an outcast. But Bhaka fears a religion change, even if that means equal treatment and opportunity to visit a church. After that Mahatma Gandhi comes to Bhaka’s village and educates everyone on Untouchability. Bhaka loves to hear someone talking on behalf of people of his lower caste people. In the last few paragraphs, a person randomly comes into the scene and informs everyone about a machine (toilet that flushes) that will clean faecal matter automatically, ending Bhaka's manual collection of feces. Bhaka believes that this will be a solution to all his problems.
This novel really made me think about my life. The author used powerful words to rip apart the hypocrisy of social injustice while stressing the need for moral renovation. To me "Untouchable" is a reminder to be aware of unsolved issues within the society.
I plan to read "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed next.

Untouchable is one of those 'day in the life' books, in this case it's the day in the life of an 18 year old sweeper named Bahka living in colonial India.

Being a sweeper, Bahka's status in society is the lowest of the low - he actually has to call out and warn people of his approach, lest they accidentally touch him and pollute themselves. Throughout the day, Bahka is subjected to endless abuse and humiliation, but a life of conditioning makes it difficult for him to truly express and act on his frustration. Bahka is torn between his role in society, his trained subservience, and his aspirations for something bigger.

The book begins strongly, Bahka makes an interesting protagonist. Reading this as my first book of 2013, I was delighted by how much of an everyman Bahka still seems. It's almost 80 years since this book was written, but Bahka is a recognizable character with believable strengths and faults. His refusal to wear a warm Indian blanket for the sake of English 'fashun', his desire to rebel cowed by the realities of his life, countless other moments make Bahka ring true. His voice is well captured, and is the strongest part of the novel.

Sadly, while the book begins on a strong note, it doesn't end on near the same level.

The everyday nature of the book is somewhat less believable when in the last twenty pages Bahka evades salvation from a missionary, stumbles onto a speech from Gandhi, and then listens to two scholars discuss the plight of (then) modern India and concludes industrialization will save them all.

Now, GRANTED, the audience for this book during it's release was much different - this was an expose, and it probably did need to be preachy at the time. This was an issue that the public needed lecturing on, and Mulk Raj Anand was a journalist as much as he was a novelist. HOWEVER in modern times it turns into exceptionally tedious reading. But the strong start and charm of Bahka make it worth it.

It's a short read, and worth the insight on colonial India the plight of the Dalit.

This book was written in 1935 by Mulk Raj Anand, who is known as the Dickens of India. It is the story of one day in the life of an untouchable It is graphic, gritty, bleak, and depressing. It is, also, a gripping read and a literary gem.

Excellent "day in the life" of Bakha an "outcaste" who can only work cleaning latrines and street sweeping, and who is literally "untouchable" (all heck breaks loose if he accidentally bumps into someone he's not supposed to, or goes within 69 yards of a temple, and cannot even draw water from the local well for fear of "polluting" it), which goes a bit awry towards the end when Mahatma Gandhi rocks up just happening to visit the town. Was heading for 4 stars, but stylistic derailment/confusion cause drop to 3.

Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable is a novel about a day in the life of one of India's lowest untouchables, sweepers who clean up the excreta left by the poor who do not have access to toilets or even outhouses. From the point of view of a sweeper, contact with Brahmins and other higher cast Hindus is fraught with peril, as accidentally touching a Brahmin can cause a riot, and in this book almost does at two points, once involving the hero, Bakha, and once involving his sister.

Untouchable was written in English and published in 1935, while India was still a British Crown Colony. Bakha is drawn to the English and likes to imitate them, admiring their openness in dealing with a mere sweeper.

This book is an eye-opener to one who, like me, has never been to India. The whole concept of people in lower castes contact with whom can pollute you and require prayers and ablutions leading to purification ... such a concept is so alien to me. If the condition of these Dalits, as they are also called, is still the same more than 80 years after this book, then India has a difficult task ahead adjusting to more egalitarian cultures.

This is a superb book and deserves to be read, both as a work of literature and an impassioned plea for lightening the load of millions of Hindus in the lower castes.