Abbasi Character Analysis

Abbasi is a small time business man serving the export market and the nation by earning precious foreign exchange and providing employment to women in particular. Like the rest of the nation, Abbasi had great faith in Rajiv Gandhi when he became the Prime Minister after his mother's assassination and whose initial attempts to rejuvenate the ailing economy was a welcome relief after decades of socialist stasis. But, Abbasi's exasperation reveals that little has changed between the assassinations: “I thought things would get better with the fellow Rajiv Gandhi taking over” (33). When the conscientious Abbasi learns that his women workers are being gradually blinded by the intricate nature of their embroidery work, he shuts down his business. But, embroidery being their only means of livelihood, the women continue in the same line of work by joining other factories in the locality. Abbasi's economic standing also becomes difficult as he finds no other meaningful entrepreneurial opportunity in his neighbourhood. He finds it hard to survive without becoming a smuggler like his less fortunate Muslim brethren who have all been
It is discomforting to see the plight of those living below the poverty line, without the bare minimum to make both ends meet; bereft of all that should be guaranteed for a dignified living; forced to lead a life full of sleaze and squalor. () A similar view is shared by Srivastava who notes that “rapid economic growth and great disparities of wealth” (89) marks the post-liberalized world of The White Tiger. Balram Halwai, the protagonist of The White Tiger asks wistfully, “The dreams of the rich and the dreams of the poor – they never overlap, do they? (133) Adiga also finds it intriguing that in spite of the astounding economic growth in India, the bulk of the country is made up of servants and the