Voices from the Darkness: Social and Economic Inequality in Aravind Adiga’s Writing

Abstract

Aravind Adiga’s fiction offers a piercing examination of the social and economic inequalities that define contemporary India. His works—The White Tiger (2008), Between the Assassinations (2008), Last Man in Tower (2011), and Selection Day (2016)—unmask the moral decay and deep structural injustices beneath the surface of India’s post-liberalization prosperity. Through his sharp irony, dark humor, and realist portrayal of the underclass, Adiga exposes the illusion of progress and democracy in a society still governed by corruption, caste, and class privilege. This paper explores how Adiga uses the narrative voice of the marginalized to challenge the myth of the “new India.” Drawing on Marxist, postcolonial, and sociological perspectives, it analyzes how his fiction represents power, servitude, and moral rebellion as both personal and systemic phenomena. The paper argues that Adiga’s literary project seeks not only to document inequality but also to give voice to those silenced by modern capitalism—those inhabiting the “Darkness” that his protagonist Balram Halwai so vividly describes.