The White Tiger

Content Warning: The Chapter 4 Summary includes the accidental murder of a child.

Balram skips the third night (of seven) and addresses Premier Wen Jiabao again on the fourth morning. He mentions Cuba and Fidel Castro’s revolution. A traditional ally of China, Cuba offers an example for what the Great Socialist might do. Balram again compares China and India, contrasting China’s sewage pipes with India’s democracy. After mentioning free elections in India, he also notes that when he voted for the first time, he didn’t know his own birthdate, until the election worker gave him that day for his 18^th birthday. The worker records that Balram voted without Balram voting.

One day at the Stork’s compound in Dhanbad, Vijay, a bus driver from Laxmangarh, appears at the door. Now a politician working for the Great Socialist, Vijay introduces the Great Socialist, who comes to humiliate the landlord and his sons. Chewing paan (also known as betel quid, a mix of areca nuts, slaked lime, and betel leaves that produces stimulant and narcotic effects), the Great Socialist asks for a spittoon, which Balram brings from the Honda City. The Great Socialist asks the Stork’s son, Mukesh Sir (later referred to as the Mongoose), to hold the spittoon, and he refuses.