Religion In The White Fire

Religion is a common theme throughout The White Tiger and most of the time it is viewed in a negative light. The narrator, Belram, does not necessarily reject religion but rather views it in a hypocritical manner. Belram question the legitimacy of God(s) which is obvious with the way he jokes that another God is just another arse to kiss, displaying his view in the hypocrisy that God(s) are something we worship so piously yet they continue to be inactive or don't actually do anything to improve one's life. Belram comes off as an arrogant man and he by no means gives religion any credit to his success even though he has been surrounded by it his whole life, this is very significant considering he lives in India where multiple religions cross
and interact. His whole life has been one big struggle, especially because he grew up so poor, but Belram is more likely to bow down to a landlord rather than a God because the way he sees it is that a man, even a greedy and miserable one, will do more for you then a spiritual being will. Bleram feels some contempt towards God and as he reflects on his return to his hometown of Laxmangarh he remarks that “I see this small black man in the wet khaki uniform start to shake, as if he has gone mad with anger, before delivering to the almighty a gesture of thanks for having created the world this particular way, instead of all the other ways…I see the little man in the khaki uniform spitting at God again and again.”(Adiga 75). Belram is feeling powerless and lost with his life and as some people turn to God or religion in times of hopelessness, Belram can't help but think that there is no point in doing so because in the end we only have ourselves and that we shouldn't waste time worshipping a being that wont return the same type of sentiment or make our lives better.