UNTOUCHABLE NOVEL BY MULK RAJ ANAND ,IMP. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, CHARACTERS

Eminent Novel 

      UNTOUCHABLE by

            Mulk Raj Anand

         

Q1- Character sketch of Sohoni

Ans.Sohini is the daughter of Rakha and the sister of Bakha, the protagonist of the novel Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand. She belongs to the scavenger community, an outcaste. She had played a crucial role in unmasking the hypocrisy and licentiousness of Pundit Kali Nath, a caste Bramhin,Although she is the daughter of a sweeper jamadar, she lives in filth and squalor but Sohini has got a ravishing charm. It is this extra ordinary charm.simple and modest. She is never proud of her ravishing charm. She seems to be quite unaware of her extraordinary beauty. She is humble, and shy. She does her work honestly and never betrays her physical fatigue. She prepares tea for breakfast and meals for morning and evening. She cleans the latrines of the caste Hindus. But she never complains. She betrays bold smiles through tears. She bears the misery, hardship and social tyranny with a smiling face.Sohini is an untouchable. She cannot take water from the well of caste Hindus. She knows that she may pollute caste Hindu so she voids touching anything which belongs to the caste Hindus. Poverty has made her humble and submissive. She does crave for human love and dignity. But she is greeted with abuses at home and insulted and humiliated out of her house.

Q2 Character sketch of Bakha in Untouchable Novel by Mulk Raj Anand

Ans.Bakha is a young man of eighteen.He is very powerful strong.He is  the son of Lakha and brother of Sohani. His father is the Jamadar of all the sweepers in the town. He is healthy both physically and mentally.

Bakha is fearless and frank. Bakha is a member of social injustice. He suffers beyond limitation.”  He is revengeful. He can not revolt against the caste system.He smokes Red Camp cigarette and sips tea without blowing it cold.He is good friend of Charat Singh.

 Once when he is slapped by a caste Hindu and later when his sister is molested by a priest.when his sister, Sohini’s chastity and modesty is molested by a caste Hindu priest, Pandit Kalinath. He becomes revengeful and wants to kill the devil. But he is helpless when he feels his limitations.He is aware and conscious of the social discrimination and injustice.He is the victim of social injustice,class inequality and caste exploitation.

Q3.Write a short note on the priest Col. Hutchinson.

Ans. Colonel Hutchinson is a priest in the novel Untouchability. He is a senior member of the Salvation Army. He is 65 years old. He had been active for several years preaching gospel of Christ and trying to bring out-castes in the fold of christianity. He carries a number of copies of the Hindustani translation

of the Bible under his arm. He thrusts into the hands of any passerby be  willing or unwilling, a copy of the Gospel as told by St. Luke. He tries to attract Bakha towards christianity but in vain. His wife is not very happy with him more so because he always likes to be in the company of out-castes. He visits the out caste colony frequently. He tries to win over converts to christianity. He is a missionary with endless zeal. He wears usually Indian costume to impress Indians.

Q4. Character sketch of ''RAKHA""

in Untouchable novel.

Ans.Rakha is Lakha's second son, younger brother of Bakha. He is a typically sweeper boy with clean shaven head and rather drawn, long jawed look on his dirty face. He has a narrow fore-head; small eyes and a listless, lazy, lousy manner. Flies sit on the corners of his lips. He does the routine work of the family going about in Bakha's old ammunition boats, laceless and noisy, too big for his small feet. His tattered  shirt, greasy with the blowing of his ever running nose obstructed his walk slightly. He is a favourite of his father who supported him when Bakha is hard upon him. He works but does not like to work for Bakha. We can safely say he is in a sharp contrast with Bakha. 

Q5(B) Character sketch of HAVILDAR CHARAT SINGH

Ans.He is an NCO and loves to play hockey. He is the famous player of the 38th Dogra Regiment with a large heart and liberal views. He is a chronic patient of piles and smokes a hubble-bubble. He does not suffer from any narrow prejudice of caste and asks Bakha to bring lime coal from the langer for his chilam. He even pours out tea from his own Tumbler for the boy. He recognizes the merit in the sweeper boy and even awards him a new hockey stick. Here is the enlightened man, who in all consciousness of the low born sweeper boy loves him like any other boy. Here is a really good man who is more manly and practical in his behaviour towards the untouchables in general and the sweeper

boy in particular.

Q6. Character sketch of PANDIT KALINATH

Ans.Pandit Kalinath is the temple priest. He is a middle aged, chronic patient of constipation who is so very fond of sweets and other delicacies inspite of his inability to digest them. He has little control over himself and is a man of loose morals. He invites Sohini, the sweeper girl to sweep the floor and catches her by her breasts when she bending to do her work. He has to let go his hold when the innocent girl cries and weeps. He is a hypocrite, who tries to maintain his Brahminical exterior and also indulge in violating the chastity of a sweeper girl who was an untouchable. He even cries out 'Polluted! Polluted' to avoid any suspicion on his respectability. If Havildar Charat Singh was good, kind and sympathetic; this rogue of a Pundit is low, mean and designing. 

Q7. Mention salient features of Untouchable.

Ans. It is Mulk Raj Anand's first novel.It was written in 2000 pages. It was published in 1935 after 19 publishers rejected it. It was published only after E.M. Forster agreed to write a preface to it. It narrates the events that took place in a day in the life of an untouchable 'Bakha'. It depicts untouchability as a social evil. In this novel Gandhiji appears in person to speak on the evil of untouchability. It is not a piece of propaganda. It has eight events in the form of eight scenes. It has no heroine but only a hero with no romantic touch. There is no particular villain but the upper caste society as a whole is depicted as villain.  

Q8. Character sketch of"GULABO"

Ans.Gulabo is the washerwoman. She is Ram Charan's mother, a fair complexioned middle aged woman. Gulabo took some pride in her cut and complexion. She was loved by a well-known Hindu gentleman, who was still kind to her in her advanced years. She thought she was superior to other out castes and was quarrelsome and uncivil. She was an assertive type of house wife and looked down upon Sohini, who had definitely more beauty than the washerman. In fact, she was jealous of Sohini.

Q9- Who is Lakha in the Novel Untouchable?

Ans. Lakha is a side male character in the novel untouchable.He is the father of Bakha and Sohani.He is jamadar and sweeper.He cleans toilet of rich family.He abuses Bakha for his mistake.

Q10- What is the Role of Gandhiji in the Novel Untouchable?

Ans.As we know that Gandhi is a freedom fighter.He is a social reformer.He gave a speech against social injustice and class inequality.

He speaks against untouchability.He said that untouchability is a curse and evil among society.He wanted to help the poor people.

Q11- Who is Gulabo in the Novel Untouchable?

Ans.Gulabo is a side female character in the novel.She is a washer woman.She thinks that she belongs to high caste family.She is mother of Ramcharan.She hates Sohani because Sohani is very beautiful young girl.She is proud of her beauty.

Q12- Describe the great desire of Bakha's heart.

Ans.Bakha is a young boy of untouchable society.He has a great desire.He was impressed with English.His mouth watered when he saw rasgulla and jalebi in the shop.

He wanted to eat them.But he was insulted publically.

Q13. Describe briefly  Kalinath sahi in episode.

Ans. Pandit kalinath is a priest in the temple.He is middle aged man.He is fond of sweets and jalebis.He has loose character.He has little control over himself.He wanted to spoil the purity of Sohoni.

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