We live in strange and chaotic times where there’s hardly a breather between the catastrophes that continually wreak havoc in the world, each of which leaves trails of disaster that would impact generations to come. We do not need to seek out information about these terrible happenings since they are shoved down our throats by myriad forms of media, anyway. If you have managed to avoid the blaring news headlines on television, there is always the anxiety-inducing content on your social media feed that you must navigate. Despite the shocking nature of such news, they only momentarily catch the fancy of audiences and soon, we have moved on to the next set of headlines that can be turned into memes, relished for the purpose of entertainment, and then discarded without a care. Especially if you are an avid social media user, you begin to see that this cycle tempts people into haphazardly adopting half-baked popular opinions, simply to advertise their position on issues to friends and followers alike. This often does not allow for deeper, impactful conversations around serious issues plaguing society.
Contrary to daily news, literature helps you build a fundamental understanding of issues, think critically and independently, and arrive at an informed stance. I believe a crucial step in engaging with real-life social issues is to read a book about it. For a very long time, my reaction to watching or reading a news piece about a terrorist attack remained the same: it was shock and horror at how inhumane the perpetrators of the attack were, and more importantly, sympathy for the victims and their families. And then, I read The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. The book is about a young Pakistani Muslim, living in the U.S., who, having graduated from Princeton, holds a high position at a consulting firm. He is quite comfortably settled with a social circle, and then, the 9/11 attack happens. His world is upturned in a day, and neither his professional standing nor his educational accomplishment protects him from the relentless discrimination and Islamophobic attacks he begins to face. Up until I read this book, I have not given a thought to what the larger repercussions of a terrorist attack are, to how ordinary Muslim citizens in Western nations suddenly become “suspects” and live in constant dread.
There are several books that discuss class and caste in India, but one of the most hard-hitting ones is The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. It is a biting satire that tells the story of Balram Halwai, a brilliant man who is born the son of a rickshaw-puller. Coming from the lowest rungs of society, he is forced to drop out of school. He works as a driver for a wealthy, upper-caste family with strong political affiliations. The story may seem like a classic rags-to-riches tale, because Balram ends up as an entrepreneur in Bangalore, but not without some blood spilled on the way. This character has plenty of shades of grey, but the justification he gives for his treacherous actions is astounding and almost convincing. Throughout the book, it is his reflections on the family he works for and his continuous commentary on caste, class, and ambition that stands out for its scathing manner.
