Who was/is the Great Socialist in Aravind Adigas book " The White Tiger"?

Simona

Hello Everybody !
I have just came back from my Indian trip and brought a book of Aravind Adiga "The White Tiger" back home with me..The book is, in my opinion, a real treasure and I enjoy a lot reading it The only thing what bothers me is that I have no clue who is the famous Great Socialist??? Is he a creation of authors imagination or is he a refference to a real person? Help me, guys, please...Not knowing is killing me

Boston123

Glad you liked the book.
It is probably Gandhi( I think someone refers to his statue in Delhi), or one of the Prime Minister's of India.. left to your imagination. I think he did a good job of highlighting the nexus between politics and business owners, and how that could keep down smart, ambitious, but poor kids.
It's funny, but when I went to school in India, no one ever said that everyone(incl the poor) should maximize their 'self interest', ..except if you were a politician, you went ahead and did it! With the internet, and easy visibility into how the 'other side' lives, I think the poor are beginning to work towards maximizing their 'self interest' as well.. a very human desire!

snactus

I find this most improbable.
First, it is obviously not a single person but a concoct of various Indian politicians a dubious moral quality. Of these there are regretfully lots and lots to choose from...
As The Great Socialist obviously is a local figure with a Dehli connection, and he appears in Bihar (I take this as granted as Gaya is mentioned all the time), the single politician there most reminiscent of The Great Socialist might be Lalu Prasad Yadav. An interesting glimpse of him can be found in William Dalrymple's The Age of Kali.
You may also have interest in this short interview with Adiga: http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_int...or_number=1552

NeeliAankhen

Nothing to add except to say - I also loved that book.

TheFoolOnTheHill

Have to say the book ( although brief, fiction, a novel and all that) depicted a *very* picture of the shenanigans of the stinking rich in Delhi.

The Picky Madam giving Balram 4700 rupees ( did she balk at giving 5000 rupees? intend to give 10,000 but re-thought the amount?) is So accurate. I've seen spoilt youngsters outside Delhi's clubs complaining about a 100 ruppee item - after having just 'dropped' 34,000 rupees on alcohol and whatnot.

The book is a very good read.

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astrobek

We are doing 'the white tiger' in contemporary literature at uni. I had the same question of 'who is the great socialitst'Boston123 I'm afraid I have to strongly disagree with your supposition that it is Ghandi. For a start Ghandi is mentioned several times in the book in a completely different context to 'the great socialist' and secondly it is clear that this character is no fan of passive resistance. i got the impression that it was someone current (jiabao is really current premier of china) or perhaps and amalgam as snactus has suggested. the point is, he is portrayed as dealing with the tamil tigers, employing as much violence and corruption as current establishment figures.. i just don't think mahatma fits the bill... although towards the end, it talks about his party being part of a group of political parties who (i assume) were forming a coalition and effectively taking over power in parliament. I'm going to google some more. Fantastic book though. And a firt novel from a journalist.. great piece of fiction.

lora

I just took the Great Socialist as a politician and I would say I skipped all that part of the book that said just about him and nothing else.

I would agree with the "rooster coop" mentioned in the book. But on the contrary "rooster coop" (of may be another quality) could be present in countries other than India. The author says that he respects three countries - China, Afghanistan and one more bcoz. these countries have not let any foreigner rule them. Do u think Afghanistan should get this respect? Afghanistan is scared and bruised by Talibans, women in Afghanistan are devoid of rights which as a human they should get.

Well I did not like the character of Munna/white tiger for various reasons.

JohnStifler

Gandhi was killed in 1948. Also, he never ran for public office.
The Great Socialist is one of India's prime ministers.

wonderwomanusa

You might have a look at his NEXT book, titled BETWEEN THE ASSASSINATIONS, which is stories from a small village in the South. I liked it.

I suspect "the Great Socialist" is either Nehru or Mrs. Gandhi.

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