Social Criticism in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger

Social criticism is a form of criticism that deals with the shortcomings and flawed structures of the society in order to reform them. In India, since the inception of English writings, a number of works especially novels have been written in order to underscore several burning socio-cultural issues which have been problematic for the smooth functioning of the society. Aravind Adiga’s epistolary novel, The White Tiger, is one such novel that tells the venturesome story of a character named Balram Halwai who writes a series of letters to Mr. Wen Jiabao, the Prime Minister of China. In these letters, he elaborates his struggles, his moral degradation and his social upliftment as a result of his daredevilry and hard work. He also mentions how the corrupt behaviour of a number of government officials in the country has helped him to raise his status. Throughout the novel, Adiga tries to portray one or other social, political, religious or cultural problems which hinder the progress of his country. In the novel, he raises many crucial issues of the country such as hunger, oppression, poverty, illiteracy, sufferings, corruption in government offices, unemployment, dowry system, prostitution, rotten political system, feudalism, wrong doings of the religious heads etc. Most of these issues are based on the grounds of caste, class and religion which heavily influence Indian society.