• Rima rani Nath

CASTE HIERARCHY IN INDIA AND ITS REFLECTION IN MULK RAJ ANAND’S ‘UNTOUCHABLE’ Miss Rima Rani Nath M.A.in English. (Asst. prof. contractual) Abstract: The caste system of India is the most widely discussed subject all over the world. It is one of the unique features in Indian society. Since time immemorial, the caste system has been playing a vital role as a means of social stratification within the periphery of Hindu Community. To be born a Hindu in India is to enter the caste system. It is a social evil in which the so- called higher caste people exploits and subjugates the lower caste people and compelled them to live in sub-human condition like beast. Mulk Raj Anand, one of the pioneer leaders of Indo- Anglican novel, is regarded as the champion of the underdogs and the downtrodden. He is a committed writer who exposes social hypocrisy and taboos, class exploitation and class struggle in his novels. His masterpiece, Untouchable (1935), exposes the callousness and hypocrisy of the caste Hindus who are enjoying a higher status in the social hierarchy.

Caste system, higher caste, lower caste, hypocrisy, hierarchy, underdogs.

"caste hierarchy in India and its reflection in Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.1-10, July-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906R37.pdf

"caste hierarchy in India and its reflection in Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp1-10, July-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906R37.pdf