The White Tiger characters

Also known as Munna, The White Tiger, Ashok Sharma

Appears from the start

The book's narrator, writing from Bangalore to the visiting Chinese premier. Born without a settled name in the village of Laxmangarh, he is officially called Balram Halwai and is nicknamed the White Tiger by a school inspector who notices his intelligence. Now a self-made entrepreneur, he promises to explain how a poor servant became a wealthy businessman.

Appears from the start

The younger son of a wealthy landlord family from Laxmangarh and Balram's principal employer. Recently returned from the United States, he appears gentler and less comfortable with feudal privilege than his relatives, though he still benefits from their money and power.

Appears from the start

Ashok's wife, raised in India but strongly attached to the life the couple had in the United States. Independent and impatient with his family's customs, she dislikes their return to India and the restrictions surrounding her as a wealthy daughter-in-law.

Also known as The Mongoose

Appears from the start

Ashok's older brother, a sharp and suspicious manager of the family's interests. He monitors servants closely and treats bribery, household discipline, and the protection of family wealth as practical business.

Also known as The Stork

Appears from the start

Ashok and Mukesh's father, one of the powerful landlords who dominate Balram's home village. His family profits from coal and other enterprises, collecting wealth through intimidation, political influence, and control over local people.

Appears from the start

Balram's commanding grandmother and the authority within his extended family. She controls family earnings and decisions, expects obedience from younger relatives, and presses Balram to send his wages home.

Appears from the start

Balram's older brother, who works alongside him after poverty forces both boys out of school. More resigned to family duty than Balram, he helps arrange Balram's driving lessons and employment.

Appears from the start

Balram's father, a poor rickshaw puller who wants at least one son to receive the education denied to him. Hard labor and illness leave him unable to protect that hope from the family's immediate need for income.

First appears in chapter 2

The Stork family's senior driver when Balram joins the household. Experienced and outwardly secure in his position, he becomes Balram's rival for the preferred driving assignments.

First appears in chapter 3

A driver and informal fixer recognizable by patches of vitiligo around his mouth. He teaches Balram how Delhi's chauffeurs obtain supplies, information, entertainment, and illicit opportunities while waiting for their employers.

Also known as The Great Socialist

Appears from the start

A powerful populist politician whose party controls the Darkness, including Laxmangarh. He presents himself as a champion of the poor while participating in the networks of bribery and patronage used by wealthy families.

First appears in chapter 7

A young nephew from Balram's extended family sent from the village to live with him in Delhi. His arrival makes Balram responsible for a child just as Balram is contemplating a decisive break with his employers and family obligations.

Appears from the start

The Chinese premier to whom Balram addresses his series of letters after hearing that he will visit Bangalore to learn about Indian entrepreneurship. He does not participate directly in Balram's story but provides its imagined audience.