This research investigates the interplay between collective hypocrisy and the construction of the self in contemporary Indian society, as represented in the novels of Aravind Adiga. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly transforming post-liberalisation India, Adiga’s fiction vividly portrays the socio-political contradictions and moral ambiguities of a nation grappling with economic growth and deep-rooted inequality. The study focuses primarily on The White Tiger, Last Man in Tower, and Selection Day, analysing how Adiga uses narrative voice, characterisation, and irony to expose societal double standards and the fractured identity of the modern Indian individual.

The primary objective of the study is to examine how collective hypocrisy—manifested through systemic corruption, class disparity, and the illusion of upward mobility—impacts the formation of selfhood in Adiga’s protagonists. Through a close textual analysis informed by postcolonial theory and sociological perspectives, the research reveals how characters internalise, resist, or mirror the duplicity of the social systems they inhabit. The study employs a qualitative, interpretive methodology, drawing from critical theory and contemporary Indian socio-cultural discourse.

Key findings suggest that Adiga’s characters often navigate a moral landscape where self-advancement necessitates ethical compromise. The self, in this context, emerges as both a product and a critique of the collective moral failures surrounding it. In The White Tiger, for example, the protagonist’s ascent is built on violence and betrayal, exposing the cost of individual success in a morally bankrupt system. Similarly, Last Man in Tower depicts the disintegration of community ethics in the face of capitalist ambition, while Selection Day explores the commodification of talent and identity under the pressures of expectation and performance.