IIM K Batch 2009-2011

The White Tiger – Book

Review

Submitted by:

PGP/13/187 Abhishek Mahnot

PGP/13/200 Devashish Agarwal
PGP/13/207 Harish R
PGP/13/222 Neha Kadyan
PGP/13/230 Rashmi Gupta
Contents
1 The White Tiger – Brief Summary.............................................................1
2 The White Tiger - India’s True Reflection.................................................2
2.1 Rural India...........................................................................................2
2.2 Urban India..........................................................................................6
3 Conclusion..................................................................................................8
4 References..................................................................................................9
1 The White Tiger – Brief Summary

The novel – ‘A White Tiger’, has a sarcastic, cynical and crude tone to it and has
been written in the unique voice of its central character, Balram Halwai. Balram,
who belongs to a poor village family, is the “white tiger” in the novel. As a white
tiger is a very rare creature in the jungle, so is the village boy, who is the only
one around who can read and write. The book encompasses a series of letters
written by the protagonist to the Chinese premier whose has a forthcoming state
visit to India. In these letters, Balram talks about his life in the village and the
various hardships associated with it. He brings to light the existence of four
landlord mafias in the village, where everyone has to pay money if they want to
graze their cattle, grow anything, use the government roads or even consume
water. He then goes on to tell his story about how he moved to the city in search
of a better life and started working there as a driver. Despite being treated
abysmally, almost like a doormat, Balram is forever concerned about the welfare
of his master and goes to the extent of owning up to the car accident caused by
his master’s wife. The book also elaborates on the “rooster coop syndrome”
experienced by a lot of migrants who leave their villages in search of greener
pastures. These migrations more often than not become an attempt to survive
rather than an endeavor towards improvement of quality of life. Towards the end
we see how Balram makes certain immoral decisions to break free and succeed.
The book raises many thought provoking questions. Is India a classic case of
growth without development; has India’s growth been able to make a difference
to the life of rural and urban poor and so on.

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2 The White Tiger - India’s True Reflection

2.1 Rural India

As Aravind Adiga elucidates in his novel, in spite of “India Shining”, the 638,365
villages in the country and their residents, amounting to 74% of the 1.17 billion
people who call this country home, are in a sorry state of affairs. The problems of
these rural poor are many, ranging from food to clean water, from oppression to
slavery, from education to opportunities, not to mention the lack of any health
facilities to speak of.

Balram, the central character in this book, bemoans this very condition, citing the
troubles faced by his family. He speaks of a well-oiled system, rooted deep into
the society, prevalent since time immemorial, with power and privilege vested in
the hands of a few landlords and denied to the rest of the community.

Poverty

The description of the landlords brings to light the various oppressions inflicted
on the masses in the country. The villagers had to bow to the landlords, who
owned all the land, and were forced to live on petty day wages for the menial
labour to which they were subjected. The villagers are forced to live in a state of
penury, and most of them live under the poverty line.

 Millions of people in India are unable to meet basic standards, and

according to government estimates, in 2007 there were nearly 220.1
million people living below the poverty line.

 It is estimated that about 42.5% of the children in India suffer from

malnutrition. Also, about 49 per cent of the world's underweight children,
34 per cent of the world's stunted children and 46 per cent of the world's
wasted children, live in India.

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 Living Conditions

Cleanliness of natural resources like water is also a huge problem in these

villages. Out of India's 3,119 towns and cities, just 209 have partial
treatment facilities, and only 8 have full wastewater treatment facilities.
“Which black river For example, 114 cities dump untreated sewage and partially cremated
am I talking of- bodies directly into the Ganges. Downstream, the untreated water is used
which river of for drinking, bathing, and washing by the 400 million or so people who
death, whose banks live along the banks of the river.
are full of rich,
dark, sticky mud In addition to cleanliness of the water, the availability of running water is
whose grip traps also a constraint. The rural poor have no access to water, their living
everything that is conditions a sham, and it is estimated that 13 million in the country are
planted in it, homeless. This state of affairs is a reflection of the disparity between the
suffocating and rich and the poor that exists in India.
choking and
stunting it? Health and Sanitation
Mother Ganga,
Everywhere this Lack of clean running water is a reminder of another problem in India. The
river flows, the author speaks poignantly; regarding the deplorable state of the health
area is darkness” – facilities in the country. Here the problem reeks of bureaucracy – doctors
Balram willing to get a salary, but not actually visit the hospitals in the villages,
In preferring to run a clinical practice in the towns nearby. The issue stems from
the
a distinct lack of attention on health on the part of the government (just 0.9%
book too,
of the public spending was in the area of health).

In the book, Adiga speaks of how Balram could not get treatment for his
parents due to there being no doctors available to treat them. His mother’s
plight reminds us that were there doctors too, they would hardly have been
able to afford them. Thus the problem exists on many fronts and is therefore,
that much more difficult to tackle.

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 Furthermore, in India, basic diseases that have been eradicated elsewhere,
like Leprosy, Polio etc still exist. Leprosy for example reported 2.4 million
cases last year, and this is only the count that was reported officially and
where the patient found access to health care. Thus, the government requires
to increase spending in this area and ensure proper health and sanitation for
the country’s poor.

Property Rights

Common property rights were also a major issue in the village. The book
speaks of how ‘the Stork’, one of the landlords of Laxmangarh ‘owned’ the
river that flowed outside the village, and levied taxes on the villagers, in the
form of taxes on boating to cross the river, and a cut of every day’s catch of
Slavery still exists fish. This is common in Indian villages, with violation of common property
in this country, and rights leading to the extreme exploitation of the rural poor.
education levels in
the country being In a country like India, where tapping of common property contributes to
poor is the primary 14% – 23% of household income, and where the poor are more dependent on
cause of this evil. common property, the acquisition of the same by the rich leads to an increase
in the disparity in the society.

Education

“They remain slaves because they can’t see what is beautiful in this world”

In these words of Balram, lies the essence of the problem faced by the rural
poor of this country.
“They remain
The problem of education is highlighted by 3 startling facts
slaves because they
can’t see what is  35% or the world’s illiterate population in Indian
beautiful in the
world” – Balram  At the current levels of growth of literacy in India and the world, India
In the will hold a majority of the world’s illiterates by 2020
book too,
 66% of India’s population in literate, as opposed to world-wide
literacy levels of 84%.

Many children living in rural areas receive a level of education which is very
poor. Overall enrollment in primary and middle schools are very low. Fifty
percent of children living in these areas leave school before the fifth grade.
These children leave school for variety of reasons: most leave so that they can
work in the fields, where the hours are long and the pay is low, forced by
their family to help share the burden of feeding mouths, instead of being
afforded the fundamental right of education.

A large percent of the dropouts are girls. Forced by their parents, most girls
perform chores and tend the family at home. These are some of the reasons
why sixty percent of all females in India are illiterate, a figure much higher
than those of males. As these children grow into adults, many are still
illiterate by the age of forty. These uneducated adults are also reluctant to

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 send their own children to school because of their failure in the education
system. This in turn creates a problem for the next generation.

The Caste System and the Darkness

Most of the nation’s social evils can be traced to this system, which
discriminates between people on the basis of their birth. The book too
The book illustrates how lower castes can never hope to make a decent living in life,
highlights this very and how a lower caste is looked down upon, even among the poor. The lower
well and links it to castes live as slaves, are often homeless, and are downtrodden by every other.
all the problems They are denied every right that the others take for granted – education,
mentioned above. It health care, shelter, right to freedom of expression, equality etc.
is due to these
reasons that It is a condition of oppression, hardships, labour, toil, poverty, disease,
Balram calls the ignorance and discrimination. It is then no wonder that the character in the
village and the life book sought to break free for this and venture out into a world that seemed to
that the villagers him more lucrative, with greater opportunities of freedom and equality. But in
lead, “The stopping for a moment to dwell on the rural scenario, we must take into
Darkness”. consideration the hardships of the rural poor and the average villager in India
In the
who feeds the rest of the country and goes hungry himself.

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 2.2 Urban India

The book highlights the fact that it would be wrong to assume that it is only rural
India that is plagued with certain issues; even urban India has its own share of
problems and ailments. These also need to be tackled well if India wishes to
witness wholesome growth and development.

In the book, the author traverses the reality of urban city life through the eyes of
Balram. He moves to the city to find a life for himself, to move out of the
clutches of slavery from his relatives and village zamindars but is soon surprised
to find how everything he has imagined about the city is a myth. There are
“In the old days opportunities but not for people like him. He finds his education grossly
there were one inadequate to find success in city. The book also highlights the facts that how
thousand caste and people in Bangalore are facing manpower issues but when youth like Balram
destinies in India. enters into the city they find no takers.
These days there
are just two castes: The author has tried to make a point that the only mantra to live a life of dignity
men with big in a city is to acquire power. Caste no longer remains a barrier, as it can be seen
bellies and men in the novel how a person from low caste after acquiring power is able to
with small bellies. dominate the upper caste. However, there are no right means available to acquire
And the only two this power.
destinies: eat or get
eaten up.” – The Adiga has reflected on the mindset that keeps these migrants always a slave to
White Tiger their masters He has used the analogy of “Rooster Coup” to explain this
syndrome. He has given the example of chickens where they see their brother
slaughtered everyday but still never think to rebel. He has compared the urban
migrant situation to these chickens and has further said that the reason these
people chose to live this life of servitude is because of their family.

Access to Basic Amenities

In the urban cities, housing in slums is a major health concern because residents
of slums live in overcrowded situations. Two-thirds of households are simple
one-room structures, a majority of them with dirt floors and poor ventilation.
Such overcrowding can lead to rapid spread of respiratory and skin disease.

Access to drinking water in slums is another major problem. More than two
thirds of slum residents lack access to safe drinking water on their premises. The
main sources of water are hand pumps, though tap water is available in some
The desire to be a
homes. The lack of safe drinking water facilitates the spread of water borne
servant had been
diseases. The presence of stored water further promotes the breeding of
bred into me:
mosquitoes and diseases such as malaria.
hammered into
my skull, nail
Absence of available latrines is a major health problem as well. It is estimated
after nail and
that over one third of slum households have no access to bathroom facilities,
poured into my
promoting open defecation, which in turn leads to spread of faecal-oral disease
blood” – Balram
and parasitic infestation.

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 The quest for security and survival forces rural migrants to always obey their
masters. This frustration turns many of them towards crime and alcoholism which
finally ends up destroying their families. They end up channelling their
frustration on their wives and kids. And as very rightly quoted by the author we
loathe these families when we come across them but we never spare a thought to
the quality of education and health facilities they live with and the social
dynamics that brings them to these state. The major reasons of growth of these
slums are high population growth rates inside slums primarily because of low use
of contraceptives, lack of awareness regarding birth spacing etc. and inability of
urban sector to absorb enough number of rural people migrating to cities.

Government Policies and their results

Though the government has taken policy measures in order to improve the
situation but the desired effect is still yet to be achieved to a large extent. Often,
certain regulatory measures though taken with a view to improve the situation;
worsen the conditions for the rural migrants. For instance, making changes to the
economic structure of cities for e.g. by closing key industries, mills etc. renders
thousands of people jobless who are left with no choice but to look for work in
informal sector activities

Government of India has initiated the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM) to develop urban infrastructure, provide basic infrastructure
facilities and urban services for 63 cities all over the country. The objective of the
Mission is to make the cities liveable, sustainable and economically vibrant in a
planned manner with community participation. But so far the results are far from
satisfactory probably because of inefficient execution and heavy migration from
village to cities. It is believed that there is an urgent need to think on the property
rights of these urban migrants.

The recent announcements by governing bodies aiming at making India slum free
in coming years is of particular importance especially when you consider the
impacts of such policies. What the government has been doing in recent years is
build low cost housing & shifting slum dwellers to such places. But in doing so
they are missing the most important point that an economy growing as vigorously
as India which sucks up millions of migrants every year as labour can never be
slum free in at least the nearest foreseeable future. The government fails to realise
that these migrants rely heavily upon common property such as parks, pedestrian
pavements, and public toilets for their survival in cities. And if government as a
part of its policy measures will deprive them of such properties it will lead to
serious law & enforcement issues. Nowadays in every village the coming
generations no longer wish to spend their lives working on farms rather they want
to come to cities to make it big in their lives. So the possibility of a stabilised
influx of migrants is out of question. The problem with the current government
policy is that it encourages land grab by future immigrants. Secondly, most of the
current government policies are based on a particular cut off date which would
distinguish the older better off migrants from the newer poorer ones.

One of the recent measures by the government providing every Indian citizen
with a unique UID is a welcome step providing these migrants with proper
identity which in turn will help them in getting good jobs. Another step could be

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strengthening public infrastructure which is accessible to all. Such steps if
followed diligently will go a long way in solving some of the issues which we are
now facing.

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3 Conclusion

Thus India is a vast country with diversities at all levels social, economic and
cultural. The country has two faces – rural and urban and both have their own
share of problems. These problems demand unique solutions that are in line with
the respective environments. There are numerous differences in the attitude and
behaviours of the people in both rural and urban India. The author in his book
shares an interesting viewpoint regarding this. He makes a very profound
comment while comparing urban and rural India. He mentions that in urban India
if people want to be good they can choose to be so but in rural India they have to
flow with the tide. This is the major difference. The urban India has an option to
make a choice.

Needless to say, “The White Tiger” paints a vivid picture of life in the strikingly
different cultures that comprise modern India and instigates all its readers to think
on various disturbing issues which are many a time brushed under the carpet.

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4 References

 http://www.economywatch.com/indianeconomy/poverty-in-india.html

 http://www.empowerpoor.org/downloads/livelihoods.pdf

 Reserve Bank of India

 Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India

 Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India

 Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India. (10334)

 http://ir.ide.go.jp/dspace/bitstream/2344/729/1/ARRIDE_Discussion_No.137_mitra.pdf

 World Health Organization

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5 Appendix

Please find below the script of the presentation:

Welcome to yet another episode of “We are the People”. In today’s episode, we along with our panelists
will review an extraordinary and brilliant piece of literary work from a young writer – Arvind Adiga.

So without wasting any time, let me introduce our panelists. In our panel, we have representatives of
various ecosystems – firstly we have Smt. Indira Devi – landlord of khakra village; we also have
amongst us: Mahesh – an average villager of the same village.

Soon two other members will be joining us – Mr. Sharma: who works in L&T and represents a common
educated Indian; and Gopal: an average villager who sometime back migrated to the city in search of a
better life.

So starting with Mahesh – Please tell us to what extent were you able to relate to the book and
appreciate its contents.

Mahesh: Reading the book really made me feel like I was listening to the story of a friend. There were
many aspects of the book that i could relate to. Such as the close family ties. We are very close to our
relatives in the village, unlike people in the city. There were other features too, the story about our cows
and buffaloes being the centres of our life is also true. Basically life is much harder for us farmers, than
others. We have no money and we find everything difficult - from feeding our families to getting our
children married

Rashmi: Indeed, Mahesh kisan began to raise some real issues there towards the end, speaking of how
difficult life is in the village. As you can see, the lives of villagers has hardly got any better in the last
(so many) years. Refer to the ppt. Now, Shreemati Indira, do you feel that this current plight of the
average villager is due to the influence of landlords?

Indira Devi: No! In what way are we landlords responsible? If anything, it is we who give these
farmers money when they need it, it is we who put a roof over their heads, and it is we who give them
food everyday. Their lives may be difficult, but they would have been much more difficult had we not
employed them

Mahesh: I understand all that. But what i mean is that our basic problems are not understood by anyone
and this is highlighted in the book. I could really relate to the book when balram spoke about the issues
related to medical care. We all have experienced at some point or the other that someone in the family is
ill, and we cannot do more than feed them, sit by their side and pray. Also, we are poor, and have no
property or money to afford good medical care. Also, clean water is not available, and we have to take
water from the river, which is like a gutter. It is these basic problems that give us trouble and that noone
understands.

Rashmi: Indiraji, kisan seems to speak the truth. Dont you feel that they have a right to health care and
clean water?

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Indira Devi: Why should these villagers complain about money? In fact, it is we who give them our
money as loans when they are in need of them. As for water, it is the villagers who are responsible for
maintaining clean the water that they use. How can we do everything for them? Is it not enough that we
put a roof over their heads and give them food? We should in fact be taking more from the villagers for
our service, but we dont. These people should leave the village and try to survive outside without any
knowledge or skills. Only then will they stop complaining.

Mahesh: (sigh). When I was 10, when my sister had to get married, I had to start working in the
landlords farm. It is easy to say that we must manage, but without these basic amenities, it is difficult

Rashmi: We all understand kisanji, what your problems are. It is no doubt that the lives of the rural
poor is indeed a tough one. The health issue raised is definitely a concern. If you will all take a look, we
see that (slides).

But are the words of Indiraji to be ignored? Have the lives of villagers indeed improved? Has
urbanization played a role in providing opportunities? To answer these questions, we call on our two
remaining panelists, Mr. Sharma and Veeru.
Mr. Sharma, you heard what indiraji said regarding the situations of villagers and how their lives have
improved. Do you concur with her opinion? Is it indeed a reflection of our country that the lives of the
rural porr has undergone a change for the better with a growth in opportunities and better standards of
living?

Mr. Sharma: It is no doubt that the life of the average Indian has taken a turn for the better in the years
post-independence. If we take a look at India over the past (so many) years, education has reached..... ,
life expectancy has.... medical care reaches many more with the advent of privatization of health care
and thousands of health camps. In all these aspects, India is definitely on a path of progress. I admit that
we still have a long way to go, but to ignore the change would be blinding ourselves

Rashmi: Mr. Sharma, while your points seem to make sense, at this juncture it would also be wise to
take into account the views of one who has lived through this dream of progress. Veeru, have you, in
your effort to move to the city for a better future, seen the same improvement in living standards? Has
your life moved ahead since you made the transition from your life in the village?

Gopal: I respect the views of Mr. Sharma, who is no doubt, a very learned man. However, in my
opinion he can never be an authority on a subject in which he has no experience. Mr. Sharma, it is easy
for you to quote a graph as a reflection of india, but I am quite sure that you have never been subjected
to the kind of discrimination that we lower castes are put through. The story of balram not being
allowed to enter a mall because of his shabby clothes is no exaggeration. I too had dreams of studying
and learning to live a dignified life, but a 1st-2nd pass is not being educated. A number cannot reflect
the plight of the people who are denied the education that you take for granted, just because some of
you command all the money

Indira Devi: What veeru says is nonsense. In the village, we who are well off do provide schools for
the other villagers to get educated. It is their inability to go on that keeps them from continuing their
education.

Gopal: (dismissively) Indiraji is of the mentality that most landlords are. They will never let the
farmers working for them come up. Look at kisanji, who does not even realise the role that these
landlords play in making their lives miserable. (in a ringing tone) Slavery still continues in this country,
Mr. Sharma, for all what your statistics show. The standards of living of the poor dont get any better
even when they move to the city. Even when we have skills, it is very difficult for us to find jobs. We

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still have to satisfy ourselves with menial jobs, and our employers treat us all like servants, no matter
what our job is. And it is these aspects that i find true in the book, and I appreciate the honesty with
which the book was written.

Mr. Sharma: I think Gopal mistook me for being against the welfare of the poor. What i mean to say is
that much of the government's efforts are being channeled in this direction, and it is no secret that
improvements have taken place. Urbanization has definitely lead to an increase in the income levels of
the poor, and this increase in income levels will trickle down to the rural poor, increasing their chances
of education and an improved life overall. As we speak, (so many) are moving to cities in search of a
better life. (ppt) All of this development is without a doubt improving the lives of those such as Gopal.

Gopal: Mr. Sharma, are you so lacking in empathy that you can make such emotionless statements? Put
yourself in the shoes of the people about whom you speak so confidently. Yes, it is true that thanks to
my move to the city in search of labour, my financial status has improved. But in terms of quality of
life, there is hardly any improvement. It is a shame that even after reading such a revealing book, we
can still be blind. Women move to the city, and earn more money than before as prostitutes. Is this an
upgradation of life? The corruption of the police and politicians is in favour of the rich. We have no say
in this entire system. (with increasing bitterness) We are caught in this system, and like the book says,
trapped in a cage like chicken, knowing that we are to be slaughtered, helpless to do anything. No
matter how hard we struggle and how worthy we are, we can never hope for the lives you take for
granted. Is it any wonder then, that many turn to crime? I would go so far as to say that Balram's
murder of Mr. Ashok in the book is even understandable.

Rashmi: While I think condoning murder is going too far, Gopal, I think you've made some profound
points. Mr. Sharma, do you, in light of the problems expressed by Gopal and Mahesh, think that the
book might actually be a true reflection of the state of affairs of the country?
Mr. Sharma: Hmm.. there is no doubt, rashmi, that what they all say bear some merit. They are no doubt
some weighty points that the book makes, borne out by the experiences of these two. I think, and I feel
the book says the same, that we tend to be too detached when viewing the difficulties of the poor, and
the effects that our actions have on their environment. Whenever we consider their lives and their
actions, we must take into account their circumstances and how life has treated them, instead of making
self-righteous statements. We have a lot of soul-searching to do, and a lot of changes to bring about,
before India is rid of this social and environmental plague.

Rashmi: Thank you so much Mr. Sharma. Though the discussion on this literary piece can span hours
together, I believe that today with our panelists, we have been able to touch upon all the nuances of the
novel. I would thank my panelists for coming on the show and for their insightful views. Needless to
say, “The White Tiger” paints a vivid picture of life in the strikingly different cultures that comprise
modern India and instigates all its readers to think on various disturbing issues which are many a time
brushed under the carpet.

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