This paper examines the projection of socially unethical practices and rampant corruption in contemporary urban India through a comparative analysis of Chetan Bhagat’s Revolution 2020 and Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. Set against the backdrop of rapid urbanisation, political instability, and socio-economic inequality, both novels expose corruption as a systemic phenomenon deeply rooted in social, cultural, and political structures rather than as isolated moral failure. Bhagat’s narrative foregrounds the nexus between politics and education, revealing how institutions meant for social mobility are transformed into profit-driven enterprises that exploit youthful aspirations. Adiga’s novel, by contrast, presents a stark and satirical account of corruption as an inescapable condition of survival within a rigidly stratified society. Through a comparative approach, this study analyses representations of political malpractice, educational corruption, economic ambition, bureaucratic failure, and cultural complicity. While Revolution 2020 retains a reformist optimism that foregrounds ethical awakening and individual responsibility, The White Tiger advances a radical critique that views corruption as foundational to urban power structures. The paper asserts that despite ideological differences, both novels converge in portraying urban modernity as ethically compromised and morally ambivalent. By situating individual experiences within broader socio-political realities, Bhagat and Adiga compel readers to confront the contradictions of India’s developmental narrative. The study contributes to contemporary literary conversation by highlighting how Indian English fiction functions as a critical lens through which social evils such as corruption are interrogated and complicated.