When Velutha has an affair with Ammu, he breaks an ancient taboo and incurs the wrath of Ammu's family and the Kerala police. He breaks the rigid social rules of the caste system and therefore, the authorities must punish him. Roy describes the policemen's violent actions as being done out of fear, "...civilization's fear of nature, men's fear of women, power's fear of powerlessness"(292). The division between the Touchables and Untouchables is so ingrained in Kerala society that Velutha is seen as a nonhuman: If they hurt Velutha more than they intended to, it was only because any kinship, and connection between themselves and him, any implication that if nothing else, at least biologically he was a fellow creature--had been severed long ago. (293)
Traditionally, a woman who has had sex with a man from a lower caste would be expelled from her caste. The reason such scandal is caused by the affair of an Untouchable and a Touchable woman might be difficult for some American readers to grasp. Reviewer Patrick Sullivan claims that "an excellent parallel would be a wealthy Southern white woman falling in love with a black man"(Sullivan).
Caste in India today
Although The God of Small Things takes place in 1969, the caste system is still present in India, especially in rural areas. Today there are about 250 million Untouchables. Caste discrimination has been against the law since 1950, but prejudice continues. The United Nations estimates that there are 115 million child laborers and 300 million starving people in India, most of which are Untouchables. Government programs and quotas have tried to raise the living standards of Untouchables by reserving places in the legislature, government jobs, and schools. These government actions often result in an increase of violence by caste members. Urbanization, economic development, and industrialization benefit Untouchables by breaking down caste barriers. In the cities of India members of different castes are constantly in close contact and forced to interact with one another which helps to weaken the strict rules of the caste system.
Untouchables have also become a strong and organized political force who refer to themselves as Dalits. In a recent interview with Emily Guntheinz, Arundhati Roy was asked to comment on the caste system. Her reply follows: It's the defining consideration in all Indian politics, in all Indian marriages...The lines are blurring. India exists in several centuries simultaneously. So there are those of us like me, or people that I know for instance, to whom it means nothing...It's a very strange situation where there's sort of a gap between...sometimes it's urban and rural, but it's really a time warp. (n. pag.)
India is a collage of different social groups. The Indian community is divided (stratified) into caste groupings that are often associated with occupation. Some groups are on the top, are privileged, and are viewed with great respect. Others are in the middle, are socially accepted and treated quite well. Still others are near the bottom, are barely tolerated and are often mistreated. Then there are those underneath - the untouchables. Their presence is often not tolerated and they are the most despised.
However, caste is only one of the dividing factors in Indian society. Race is also a factor. Dravidians tend to isolate themselves from Bengalis, Bengalis from Aryans, and Aryans from Dravidians. Language barriers also exist. India has 14 "national" languages and thousands of other languages and dialects exist across the sub-continent.
