A Comparative Study of Subaltern Voices and Social Justice in Arundhati Roy and Aravind Adiga

Abstract

This paper, “A Comparative Study of Subaltern Voices and Social Justice in Arundhati Roy and Aravind Adiga,” examines the representation of marginalized communities in contemporary Indian English literature through the works of Arundhati Roy and Aravind Adiga. The term “subaltern” refers to socially, economically, and politically marginalized groups whose voices are often excluded from dominant discourse. It explores how Roy, through her politically engaged essays, foregrounds issues such as displacement, environmental injustice, and state oppression, giving voice to communities affected by unequal development. In contrast, Adiga presents the experiences of the urban poor through fiction, using narrative realism, irony, and first-person perspective to depict class divisions, corruption, and limited social mobility. Adopting a comparative approach, the paper highlights both similarities and differences in their treatment of social justice. While Roy’s writing is direct and activist in tone, Adiga employs storytelling to reveal systemic inequalities from within. The study concludes that both authors effectively foreground subaltern voices and critique social injustice, demonstrating the role of literature as a powerful medium for representing marginalized perspectives and questioning dominant social structures.