Untouchable

Sohini is Bakha's fourteen-year old sister. She is beautiful and is sexually desired by several men who make brief appearances in the novel. Sohini's character is not well-developed beyond her physical attributes, making her a representation of how any beautiful woman might be viewed in the story. Sohini is seen by other men as an object to be possessed. She attends the temple to clean it because she is unable to refuse the invitation of the priest. But the priest assaults her once she is there, believing that she will allow him, given the difference in their statuses. Sohini resists the priest, and it is her act of defiant agency that turns Bakha's thoughts to vengeance. Ultimately, however, Sohini has no recourse for pursuing justice against the priest. She experiences a different, lower level of violation and abuse than any other Untouchable in the novel. The advantages that might come from being beautiful in any other caste are not available to Sohini.

Lakha is Bakha's father and a widower. With only one exception, he is only shown shouting at his children, calling them names, and urging them to work harder. By the end of the novel Bakha understands that his father resents the fact that he cannot help his children have better lives. They are Untouchables because they were sired by an Untouchable. He vents his frustration by bullying his children. The exception in which he shows a softer side is when Bakha tells him about being struck by the man he bumped into. Lakha tries to convince Bakha that all of the upper castes are kind, but this is obviously not true. Lakah's motivations in warning his son away from vengeance arise from a fear that Bakha will put himself in danger. Despite the constant haranguing his children endure from him, he does not want them to be in danger. Lakha represents an older Untouchable generation’s attempt to deal with their powerlessness in Indian culture.

Charat Singh is a famous hockey player, a Brahmin, and one of the only characters in the novel who shows kindness to Bakha. Charat Singh gives Bakha a hockey stick, knowing how happy it will make him. He also lets Bakha into his home, and allows him to touch his possessions, in stark contrast to other Brahmins who scream that Bakha is polluting their homes merely by appearing on the street where they can see him. Given that Charat Singh is so casual with Bakha even though he is an Untouchable, it can be argued that Charat Singh either does not believe in the Hinduism that decrees that Untouchables are polluted, or that he simply does not care. When he asks Bakha not to tell anyone that he gave him the hockey stick, given what the reader has learned of him, he does so not out of shame, but out of convenience for himself; he would rather not have to explain to other upper caste members why he is treating an Untouchable with compassion. Charat Singh is a sign that members of all castes can co-exist peacefully and treat each other with kindness. His motivations are sincere since there is nothing he can gain by acting compassionately towards Bakha.