Summary

The White Tiger is a story about Balram Halwai, who starts out as the son of a rickshaw driver and
becomes an entrepreneur. He writes to the Premier of China in order to educate him on how
entrepreneurs are made in India.

The story begins in a village that is controlled by four cruel landlords. The author’s family lives at the
mercy of these landlords, who are referred to as “The Animals.” Despite his difficult childhood, the
author excels in school and gets noticed by an inspector from another town. This inspector gives him
the nickname “the White Tiger,” after a rare creature in India.

Balram’s mother and father recognize his potential, but his grandmother takes him out of school to
work in a teashop. Balram wants to continue his education, so he decides to go into the chauffeuring
business. He overhears one customer talking about how much money chauffeurs make, and he begs
for permission to go to driving school. His grandmother agrees on the condition that he sends home
all of his wages from working as a chauffeur.

Balram’s training is complete, so he goes to the rich families of Dhanbad and offers his services. He
arrives at the mansion of one of Laxmangahr’s animal landlords (the Stork) after Mr. Ashok returns
from America with his wife Pinky Madam. The family hires Balram as a driver for Mr. Ashok, but he
also serves other members in the household including Ram Persad, who drives them around
sometimes.

Balram learns that the Stork family’s fortune comes from selling coal illegally. The government
doesn’t know about it, and they bribe officials to keep their business running. Unfortunately, they
recently had a disagreement with the Great Socialist (a politician). They’re sending Ashok and Pinky
to Delhi to fix things up by giving more bribes. Balram wants Ram Persad fired so he can go in his
place because he thinks this is an opportunity for him as well.

Once in Delhi, Balram witnesses the marriage of Pinky and Ashok fall apart. Pinky returns to the US
after killing a child in a hit-and-run accident and leaves her husband behind without any support. In
her absence, Ashok goes out to bars and clubs. While observing his master’s gradual corruption,
Balram becomes disillusioned by what he sees as Ashok’s lack of generosity towards him. Although
Ashok is relatively kind towards him, Balram realizes that whatever generosity he has shown is only a
fraction of what he can afford. He doesn’t really care about helping Balram achieve a better life or
changing society for the better; all he cares about are his own pleasures which include partying at
nightclubs while ignoring his wife who desperately needs help from him back home in India.

Balram plans to murder Ashok and escape with the bag of money that he carries around the city to
bribe politicians. He must also contend with a system in which poor people like him are trapped. If
Balram kills Ashok, his family will kill all of Balram’s relatives back home in Laxmangahr as retaliation
for the murder. Balram is also held back by his young cousin Dharam who Kusum sends from
Dhanbad so that Balram can help raise him instead of murdering Ashok.

Balram decides to go through with the murder of Ashok. He has a weapon made out of a broken
liquor bottle and plans to kill him while he is driving his car. Balram convinces Ashok that there’s
something wrong with the wheel, so Ashok gets down on his knees to fix it, and then Balram hits him
in the head with the broken bottle and kills him. After killing Ashok, he goes back home to get Dharam
(his young cousin) and they escape together by train for Bangalore.