Societal Divisions

Anand’s “Untouchable” raises the important issues of human exploitation and societal divisions. The caste system severely separated members of Indian society based on occupation and income, with the “untouchables” at the bottom of the system, unskilled laborers and domestic servants right above, skilled workers such as traders and merchants next, warriors and rulers, followed by priests who were at the top of society. Children were expected to inherit the positions that their parents were in, for example Bakha was expected to become a sweeper when his father died and was never given an opportunity to better himself or his family. Another example of this division is with the water well, where individuals from lower castes are not allowed to get their own water, and must wait by a well until someone from a higher class gives them water. These individuals were deemed “untouchable” and the higher caste members feared that if they fetched their own water, they would contaminate the water. These conditions severely limited the economic and social development of untouchables such as Bakha.