Untouchable

by

Mulk Raj Anand

“Sahib,” which derives from the Urdu word for “master,” was used as a term of respect for Europeans in colonial India. In the novel, Bakha often refers to the English clothing and past times he so admires as sahib “fashun,” an exotic symbol of power that he and his friends Chota and Ram Charan aim to emulate.

Sahib Quotes in Untouchable

The Untouchable quotes below are all either spoken by Sahib or refer to Sahib. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
).
Pages 3–43 Quotes

[Bakha] had had glimpses, during his sojourn there, of the life the Tommies lived, sleeping on strange, low canvas beds covered tightly with blankets, eating eggs, drinking tea and wine in tin mugs, going to parade and then walking down to the bazaar with cigarettes in their mouths and small silver-mounted canes in their hands. And he had soon become possessed with an overwhelming desire to live their life. He had been told they were sahibs, superior people. He had felt that to put on their clothes made one a sahib too. So he tried to copy them in everything, to copy them as well as he could in the exigencies of his peculiarly Indian circumstances.

Related Characters: Bakha
Related Symbols: English Clothes
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:

“Why are we always abused? The santry inspictor and the sahib that day abused my father. They always abuse us. Because we are sweepers. Because we touch dung. They hate dung. I hate it too. That's why I came here. I was tired of working on the latrines every day. That's why they don't touch us, the high castes. […] For them I am a sweeper, sweeper - untouchable! Untouchable! Untouchable! That's the word! Untouchable! I am an untouchable!”

Related Characters: Bakha (speaker), The Touched Man, The Rickshaw Driver
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Pages 73–105 Quotes

There wasn’t a child about the 38th Dogras who hadn't cast lingering eyes at this hat. The spirit of modernity had worked havoc among the youth of the regiment. The consciousness of every child was full of a desire to wear Western dress, and since most of the boys about the place were the sons of babus, bandsmen, sea poise, sweepers, washermen and shopkeepers, all too poor to afford the luxury of a complete European outfit, they eagerly stretched their hands to seize any particular article they could see anywhere, feeling that the possession of something European was better than the possession of nothing European.

Related Characters: Bakha
Related Symbols: English Clothes
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:
Pages 105–139 Quotes

‘Yes, Sahib, I know,’ said Bakha, without understanding the subtle distinction which the Colonel was trying to institute between himself and the ordinary sahibs in India whose haughtiness and vulgarity was, to his Christian mind, shameful, and from whom, on that account, he took care to distinguish himself, lest their misdeeds reflect on the sincerity of his intentions for the welfare of the souls of the heathen. To Bakha, however, all the sahibs were sahibs, trousered and hatted men, who were generous in the extreme, giving away their cast-off clothes to their servants, also a bit nasty because they abused their servants a great deal.

Related Characters: Bakha (speaker), Colonel Hutchinson
Related Symbols: English Clothes
Page Number: 108
Explanation and Analysis:

Bakha saw a sallow-faced Englishman, whom he knew to be the District Superintendent of Police, standing by the roadside in a khaki uniform of breaches, polished leather gators and blue-puggareed, khaki sun helmet, not as smart as the military officers’, but, of course, possessing for Bakha all the qualities of the sahibs’ clothes. Somehow, however, at this moment Bakha was not interested in sahibs, probably because in the midst of this enormous crowd of Indians, fired with enthusiasm for their leader, the foreigners seemed out of place, insignificant, the representative of an order which seemed to have nothing to do with the natives.

Related Characters: Bakha, Mahatma Gandhi/Mohandas K. Gandhi
Related Symbols: English Clothes, The Sun
Page Number: 126
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Untouchable LitChart as a printable PDF.
Untouchable PDF

Sahib Term Timeline in Untouchable

The timeline below shows where the term Sahib appears in Untouchable. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 3–43
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
...observed the British for so long, he feels an overwhelming desire to “look like a sahib,” even when his father Lakha scolds him. Bakha has received some English items as charity... (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
...school, before he learned that outcaste children were not allowed. Still, dreaming of becoming a sahib, Bakha bought a primer and tried to teach himself to read (though he gave up... (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
Coming of Age and Inherited Prejudice Theme Icon
...owes this man money. Bakha then goes to admire some fine cotton cloth—the material the sahibs wear, though Bakha cannot afford it. Lastly, Bakha goes to the sweetshop, where he takes... (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
The rest of the onlookers join in, mocking Bakha’s sahib dress and lamenting that outcastes now dream of having higher status. Two children even accuse... (full context)
Pages 73–105
Bodies and Cleanliness  Theme Icon
...about this hat, including that it is has been left here as a symbol of sahib power. And though some believe the solar topee is haunted, everyone from little children to... (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
...the chants of “dog” and “pig,” helping to mock Bakha for wanting to “be a sahib.” (full context)
Pages 105–139
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
...also endows Hutchinson with some of the respect and glamour he associates with the other sahibs. (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
Bodies and Cleanliness  Theme Icon
...with the villagers. The Colonel lectures Bakha about how he is different from the other sahibs because he sees himself as much less vulgar and haughty. But this does not mean... (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
...Bakha starts to feel bored, reflecting that he only continues walking with Hutchinson “because the sahib [wears] trousers,” and “trousers [are] the dream of his life.” (full context)
Coming of Age and Inherited Prejudice Theme Icon
...and for the first time in his life, Bakha does not feel impressed by a sahib’s presence. As people join hands to show their respect for Gandhi, Bakha thinks that the... (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
Coming of Age and Inherited Prejudice Theme Icon
Nature vs. Society Theme Icon
Bodies and Cleanliness  Theme Icon
...will relieve him of this labor. Bakha wonders if he will ever get to wear sahib clothes. But then the image of the British guard at Gandhi’s speech pops into his... (full context)