Honor

Mohan is an IT executive at the successful Tata corporation, a kind, sometimes insecure man who can read as arrogant. Like his love interest, Smita, Mohan is a round, dynamic character who expands his perspective while remaining true to himself. When he picks Smita up at the airport, she initially mistakes him for a driver. He finds this mistake insulting, and she is amused by his “wounded pride” and “quickness to take insult” that remind her of Indian men she knew in America (9). Mohan describes himself as a “Mumbai boy” who hates traveling and being alone. While Smita relishes her independence, he is thankful for the Aunties and servants who make his life easier.

Mohan exhibits empathy and perception throughout the novel. He brings translator Nandini food without being asked and charms Meena’s mother-in-law. He also perceives Smita’s difficult relationship with India: At times, Mohan apologizes for gender inequities on India’s behalf, and other times, he reminds her that the country is her home too. When Meena’s brothers’ non-guilty verdict is announced, he hopes to hire Meena as a servant to protect her. He is quick to experience and express his love for Smita, offering to take a leave of absence to move to America. Mohan also becomes Abru’s guardian without hesitation. In this, he represents the best version of new India, one that remains true to its culture without perpetuating communal hatred. When he learns Smita was born Muslim, he expresses shame at being Hindu and wishes he could have protected her younger self—“making up” for lost time by shielding her in the courthouse and from a mob of men.

Meena’s story opens the novel, with journalist Shannon Carpenter publishing an article about her. Meena is raised in a poor, illiterate Hindu family in a village near Mumbai. She and her deceased husband, Abdul, mirror Smita and Mohan in that both are Hindu-Muslim couples—this union of different identities being an ongoing issue in India. While Meena is a round character, she is not as dynamic as Smita and Mohan. Instead, her monologues reveal her dynamic past and her love for fellow factory worker Abdul. Her willingness to challenge gender norms and sue her two brothers, Govind and Arvind, in court for Abdul’s murder is brave but risky, as doing so leaves her, her mother-in-law, and her daughter, Abru, vulnerable. In the end, Meena dies to a mob of men, sacrificing herself for Abru.

Anjali is Meena’s lawyer, the person who encouraged her to sue her brothers. When Smita accuses Anjali of using Meena as a “sacrificial lamb” (248), the lawyer claims she never hid the likelihood of failure from her client. She shows that women in India are capable of fighting their own battles against patriarchy and misogyny, even if they do not always win. In this regard, she is a round, static character, a symbol of new India. However, Anjali also represents class divides in the country, where educated, privileged women like her try to “rescue” oppressed women like Meena—sometimes to sate their own ego. After Meena’s death by a mob of men, Anjali continues to challenge Meena’s brothers.