Subverting the Hegemonic Order: Caste, Power, and Resistance in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger

Abstract

This paper explores the insidious function of cultural hegemony in sustaining caste-based domination within Indian society, specifically in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. The study examines how consent, coercion and ideological dominance normalize systematic exploitation and uphold long-standing caste and class hierarchies using Antonio Gramsci’s theoretical framework. The paper critiques caste based disparities that underpin elite hegemonic power by analyzing the protagonist Balram Halwai. Adiga’s representation of Balram’s progression from enslavement to entrepreneurship underscores his struggle against oppressive powers to confirm how caste and economic exploitation are interwoven. In addition, to examine the evolving nature of cultural dominance modern theories from Nancy Fraser and Stuart Hall are employed along with Gramsci’s foundational ideas. The emergence and extraction of social class within a capitalist structure is clarified by Hall’s articulation theory and Fraser’s account of neoliberal identity-based injustices. The White Tiger, according to this study, is a striking critique of cultural hegemony principally in its depiction of institutional connivance and infused servitude. The paper underlines that the transformative power of literature has ability to challenge dominant power structures by situating Adiga’s work within greater debates of resistance and hegemony.  To achieve social equality in the society, the paper fosters for counter-hegemonic initiatives that dismantle deeply entrenched hierarchical structures.