This blog is Flipped Learning Activity: The Ministry of Utmost Happiness assigned by the Dilip Barad Sir. Here is the article for background reading: Click Here.
.png)
Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness deliberately departs from conventional linear narration to capture the fragmented nature of trauma, marginalization, and state-sponsored violence in contemporary India. Instead of offering a single, continuous storyline, the novel unfolds as a “shattered story,” shaped by disrupted timelines, shifting locations, and intersecting yet incomplete lives. This fractured narrative mirrors the experiences of characters whose lives have been broken by gender discrimination, caste brutality, communal conflict, militarization, and political exclusion.
This analysis explores how Roy’s fragmented narrative structure operates as a formal response to trauma. Through Anjum’s transformation from Aftab to Jannat, Saddam Hussain’s radical change following his encounter with caste-based violence, and the eventual meeting of these lives in shared spaces of shelter, the text reveals how individual pain is deeply intertwined with broader national histories of oppression. Roy’s use of non-linear storytelling, movement across spaces—from the Khwabgah to the graveyard—and the gradual convergence of narratives underscores her ethical aim: to represent a shattered reality without imposing artificial unity, allowing diversity, tension, and resilience to exist side by side.
Video 1 Khwabgah
“She lived in the graveyard like a tree. At dawn she saw the crows off and welcomed the bats home. At dusk she did the opposite.”
At first, readers may feel confused about what Arundhati Roy is trying to suggest through the comparison between the girl and a tree. The novel moves across five major locations—Khwabgah, Jannat Guest House, Jantar Mantar, Kashmir, and Dandakaranya. It primarily traces the life journey of Anjum, a hijra who eventually makes her home in the Jannat graveyard.
In the second chapter, titled Khwabgah, Anjum meets a blind Imam named Ziauddin. The narrative then shifts back to her childhood. She was born to Mulaqat Ali and Jahanara Begum, and at birth the midwife, Ahlam Baiji, revealed that the baby had both male and female genitalia. The child was named Aftab, and the parents struggled to accept that their child was a hijra.
Later, the story returns to Khwabgah, where Aftab first goes while out shopping with her mother. There she meets others like herself, and Roy introduces several characters such as Mary, Gudiya, Bulbul, Bismillah, Raziya, Nimmu Gorakhpuri, and Begum Kulsoom Bi, the head of the household. Gradually, Aftab’s parents begin to accept her identity as part of the third gender. They visit Hazrat Sarmad’s Dargah hoping for blessings, but their visit brings no change. The novel recounts the history of Sarmad, who loved a man named Abhaychand and was executed at Jama Masjid for reciting an incomplete Kalima.
Aftab witnesses this execution and later finds an abandoned baby, Zainab, on the steps of Jama Masjid. She takes the child to Khwabgah, but when Zainab becomes ill, Aftab blames Saeeda, another hijra she considers an enemy. Desperate for the child’s recovery, Aftab travels to Ajmer Sharif with Zakir Mian to pray. After the prayers, Zakir suggests visiting Ahmedabad for business with his wife’s family, and this is where the narrative introduces the Gujarat riots of 2002.
During the riots Zakir is brutally murdered, while Aftab is spared because the mob believes killing a hijra brings bad luck. The incident echoes the memories of the Godhra violence between Hindus and Muslims. Deeply traumatized, Aftab changes both her and Zainab’s appearance and way of life. From this point onward, Aftab fully accepts the identity of Anjum and begins living independently in the Jannat graveyard.
Video 2 Jantar Mantar
In this part of the video, Roy introduces the character Saddam Hussain, who lives at the Jannat Guest House. His original name is Dayachand, and he belongs to the Chamar caste of Haryana, a community traditionally associated with leather work. Dayachand’s life changes after his father is brutally killed by a police inspector named Sehravat, who falsely accuses him of slaughtering a “holy cow.” Determined to take revenge, Dayachand renames himself Saddam Hussain after the Iraqi leader’s execution and vows to one day kill Sehravat.
The narrative then shifts to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, where Anjum observes several political and social protests. Various groups, including supporters of Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, gather to raise their voices against injustice. These diverse movements are brought together by Dr. Azad Bhartiya. Amid the chaos of the demonstrations, Anjum notices a baby in the crowd, but the child suddenly disappears, adding another layer of mystery to the story.
Video 3 Kashmir and Dandakaranyak
The narrative gradually shifts from Anjum’s viewpoint to a first-person account by Biplab Dasgupta, an officer working in the Intelligence Bureau. Through his narration, several new characters are introduced, most notably Tilottama, an enigmatic woman who takes responsibility for a missing child and names her Miss Jebeen the Second. This immediately raises curiosity about the identity of Miss Jebeen the First. Other important figures also appear, such as Nagraj Hariharan, a journalist; Musa Yeswi, who later turns to militancy; and law-enforcement officials like Inspector Amrik Singh, ACP Pinky Sodhi, and her brother Balbeer Sodhi. These sections are presented through the voice of a character known as the “Landlord,” who rents out his house and observes the lives of his tenants.
Tilottama, a student of architecture in Delhi, becomes central to the unfolding drama. Her mysterious past and complex relationships with Musa, Naga, and Hariharan are slowly revealed. Musa’s transformation into a militant is rooted in deep personal tragedy—he loses his wife Arifa and his young daughter, Miss Jebeen the First, during a military raid. The novel powerfully depicts how this unbearable grief pushes him toward the insurgency in Kashmir. Through Musa’s story, Roy critiques the cycle of violence in the region, showing how political conflict often grows out of intimate human suffering. At the same time, the novel has been criticized for emphasizing the militant viewpoint while giving limited attention to the sufferings of Kashmiri Pandits.
The narrative also recalls the college days of these characters, when they collaborated on a play and were all emotionally drawn to Tilottama. Her decision to shelter the missing child and her connections with Dr. Azad and Saddam deepen the plot. One of the most striking images in the novel is that of a young militant found dead with flowers in his hands—a symbol that reflects both death and hope, suggesting that even amid destruction there remains a fragile belief in Kashmir’s future.
The focus then moves to Revathy, the mother of Miss Jebeen the Second (also called Udaya Jebeen). Her story is deeply tragic: she becomes pregnant after being raped by six policemen. Toward the end of the novel, her long letter reveals the horror she endured and the strength that allowed her to survive. The child becomes a powerful symbol of fractured identities and violence, yet also of resilience and the possibility of healing.
Roy also explores how conflict affects those within the security forces. The story of Amrik Singh and his wife Lavleen illustrates the psychological damage caused by constant fear and tension. Although Amrik is not directly killed by militants, the unending anxiety of living in a war-like situation ultimately destroys him. This highlights the shared vulnerability of all people touched by violence, regardless of which side they belong to.
Overall, the novel weaves together personal histories and political realities, engaging with themes of identity, resistance, and the devastating impact of war. Through its layered narrative, it portrays the endurance of ordinary individuals while exposing the painful truths of life in a conflict-ridden world.
Video 4 Udaya Jebeen & Dung Beetle
The novel concludes with Dr. Azad Bhartiya emerging as a linking force who brings many of the characters together. It is eventually revealed that Saddam Hussain has married Miss Udaya Jebeen, and the couple now lives peacefully at the Jannat Guest House. Tilottama has also settled nearby and teaches at the Jannat Graveyard, remaining connected to the community that has grown there.
Musa spends his final night at the guest house with Tilo, the woman he loves, before returning to Kashmir for what he believes will be his last mission. The two share an intimate and emotional moment in which Tilo recites an Urdu poem and reflects on questions of identity and storytelling. Musa is deeply touched by her individuality and recalls the image of a young man killed in Kashmir, a memory that embodies both hope and sorrow.
At the same time, Anjum, the transgender founder of the guest house, contemplates her long and difficult journey while walking through the graveyard she has made her home. She takes Miss Udaya Jebeen for a late-night walk, introducing the child to the silent, hidden side of the city. These gentle moments stand in contrast to the painful histories of violence and loss surrounding Musa and Tilo.
The novel closes on a note of quiet optimism. Through Anjum’s resilience and the presence of Miss Jebeen, Roy suggests the possibility of renewal and healing. Small images, such as a dung beetle continuing its work, symbolize the persistence of life despite suffering. In the end, the story affirms that even after immense tragedy, hope survives and life continues to move forward.
Video 5 Thematic Study of 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'
Resilience and Hope
In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy emphasizes the endurance and hope of India’s marginalized communities. Through figures such as Anjum and the spiritual legacy of Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed, the novel demonstrates that love and dignity can survive even in the face of oppression. The perseverance of the Kashmiri people and the birth of Miss Udaya Jebeen symbolize renewal and the possibility of a better future. The image of the dung beetle in the closing pages becomes a powerful metaphor for the cycle of life, suggesting that resilience and hope are necessary to overcome suffering and rebuild society.
Gender Identity, Social Division, and Coexistence
Anjum, a transgender woman born intersex, challenges conventional ideas of gender by embracing both masculine and feminine aspects of herself. Her identity reveals that gender is fluid rather than fixed. Roy draws a parallel between rigid gender binaries and the violent division created by the India–Pakistan Partition, implying that both are artificial boundaries. Through Anjum’s journey, the novel advocates acceptance of differences and imagines the possibility of peaceful coexistence between historically divided communities such as Hindus and Muslims, and even between India and Pakistan.
Social Hierarchy and Inclusivity
Roy contrasts characters who uphold social hierarchies with those who promote inclusion. Biplab Dasgupta, a privileged Brahmin, represents the loneliness and moral distance of the elite, while Anjum, a hijra, builds an open and welcoming community at the Jannat Guest House and graveyard. By accepting people from all religions and social backgrounds, Anjum creates a space of equality and dignity. This community becomes a symbol of the kind of society Roy envisions—one where divisions of caste, class, and gender are replaced by compassion and belonging.
Religion and Power
The novel also examines the dangerous relationship between religion and politics in contemporary India. Roy critiques Hindu nationalism and shows how political leaders manipulate religious identity to legitimize hatred and violence, particularly between Hindus and Muslims. She also reflects on how extremist interpretations of Islam in Kashmir deepen conflict and mistrust. Ultimately, the novel warns that when religion is used as an instrument of state power, it threatens individual freedom, human security, and the possibility of peaceful coexistence.
Video 6 Symbols and Motifs
Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed
Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed, originally from Armenia, was a mystic who traveled to India, embraced Islam, and developed a close relationship with a Hindu man named Abhaychand. He was executed for expressing doubts about rigid religious doctrines, yet his life has come to symbolize a form of love that transcends boundaries of faith and identity. His shrine continues to welcome people from all communities, reflecting the idea that true spirituality rises above social divisions and orthodox beliefs.
The Old Man–Baby
This elderly figure became famous for his hunger strikes against corruption in India and emerged as a symbol of hope for marginalized and displaced people. Over time, however, his movement was taken over by powerful and wealthy interests, and its original purpose was diluted. Even so, his fragile but determined presence represented the possibility of social change and a more just future for those who had long been ignored.
The Shiraz Cinema
The Shiraz Cinema represents India’s attempt to promote its culture in Kashmir, but it was shut down by separatist groups who viewed it as an instrument of cultural domination. Later, the building was converted by the Indian Army into a detention and torture center, which deepened resentment and fear among the local population. Its transformation illustrates how cultural spaces can be turned into sites of violence when political conflicts remain unresolved.
Jannat Guest House and Funeral Parlor
The Jannat Guest House functions as a refuge for people rejected by mainstream society because of their religion, caste, or gender identity. It embodies the values of acceptance and inclusivity and offers a vision of what India could become if it embraced all its citizens equally. Located beside a graveyard, it symbolizes both vulnerability and hope, standing at the intersection between death and the promise of renewal.
Duniya and Jannat
“Duniya” (the world) and “Jannat” (paradise) operate as contrasting symbols in the novel. While the world is associated with suffering and struggle, paradise suggests peace and harmony. Roy, however, complicates this opposition by showing that places imagined as paradise can also contain violence and injustice, blurring the boundary between the two.
Motherhood
Motherhood is a central theme explored through characters such as Anjum, who longs to be a mother despite social obstacles. The idea is also connected to the notion of “Mother India,” a concept that does not easily include people from minority communities. Roy redefines motherhood as an expression of compassion and care that crosses religious and cultural boundaries rather than being limited by them.
Bodies, Waste, and Inner Struggles
Roy uses images of bodies and waste to expose deep social inequalities. Dalit communities, traditionally forced to handle waste and dead bodies, represent the burden of systemic oppression. At the same time, the body becomes a site of resistance, reflecting both the external violence imposed on characters and their internal emotional wounds.
Guih Kyom, the Dung Beetle
The dung beetle in the final chapter symbolizes endurance and regeneration. Though small and often overlooked, it plays a vital ecological role, suggesting that even the humblest beings contribute to the continuation of life. The beetle becomes a metaphor for quiet resilience and the belief that hope can emerge from unexpected places.
Gujarat ka Lalla
The figure referred to as “Gujarat ka Lalla,” modeled on Narendra Modi, represents the rise of Hindu nationalist politics in India. His connection to the 2002 Gujarat riots highlights how extremist ideologies intensify social divisions and endanger vulnerable communities.
The Color Saffron
Saffron in the novel functions as a symbol of militant Hindu nationalism. It is linked to the violence faced by minorities, particularly Muslims, and recalls Anjum’s survival of a massacre. The color thus represents the lingering trauma produced by religious extremism and intolerance.
The Vulture
Vultures symbolize the environmental and social damage caused by modernization. Their decline, due to toxic chemicals in agriculture, mirrors the silencing of voices that question oppressive systems. The disappearance of vultures suggests the loss of natural balance as well as the erasure of those who resist injustice.
Activity A: The "Shattered Story" Structure
Narrative Structure and Trauma in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness consciously moves away from a linear, unified storyline and instead adopts a fragmented, non-linear narrative form. This fractured structure reflects both the psychological trauma of individual characters and the broader historical violence of the nation. Roy’s narrative method can be understood through the idea of “how to tell a shattered story by slowly becoming everything,” a strategy in which the novel absorbs dispersed lives, spaces, timelines, and histories into an open, expanding framework rather than organizing them chronologically.
Non-Linearity as an Expression of Trauma
Trauma does not follow a straight narrative path. Those who experience it often recall events through disjointed memories, repetitions, and sudden intrusions instead of orderly sequences. Roy mirrors this process by moving across different periods, locations, and viewpoints. Rather than advancing in a conventional manner, the novel layers stories upon one another, allowing time to be experienced as fractured, disrupted, and cyclical, much like the characters’ own perceptions.
Anjum’s life illustrates this narrative approach. Her childhood in Old Delhi, her time in the Khwabgah, the trauma of the Gujarat riots, and her later existence in the graveyard are presented as overlapping moments rather than as a continuous biography. This structure reflects how Anjum’s trauma—shaped by gender marginalization, communal violence, and displacement—cannot be confined to a finished past. For her, trauma persists and repeatedly resurfaces.
From Khwabgah to Jannat: Space as Narrative Structure
A key example of Roy’s structural technique is the movement from the Khwabgah (House of Dreams) in Old Delhi to the graveyard that becomes Jannat Guest House. This shift is not simply a change of location but a reorganization of the narrative itself.
The Khwabgah functions as a fragile communal shelter for hijras, offering limited protection amid constant vulnerability. Following the violence Anjum survives, the narrative turns toward the graveyard, a space traditionally associated with death and finality. Paradoxically, this site is transformed into Jannat (Paradise), a place of life, growth, and inclusion. This spatial progression captures trauma’s contradiction: survival often takes place within spaces marked by loss. By allowing a burial ground to become a center of storytelling, Roy enables the narrative to “become everything”—dream house, site of violence, and refuge—without privileging a single focal point.
Tilo’s Kashmir Narrative and Broken Temporality
Tilo’s storyline introduces another form of non-linearity, particularly through its engagement with Kashmir, militarization, and enforced disappearances. Her narrative emerges in fragments—through letters, memories, and abrupt temporal shifts—rather than in chronological order.
This fragmentation reflects political trauma. Kashmir appears not as a stable geographical space but as a temporal wound where past violence continually disrupts the present. Musa’s transformation from lover to militant is conveyed through gaps and silences rather than linear explanation, mirroring how state violence fractures and erases coherent life narratives. Tilo’s personal experiences of loss, surveillance, and emotional dislocation are inseparable from Kashmir’s collective trauma, and the non-linear structure ensures that her suffering remains embedded within a broader historical rupture.
The Found Baby: Convergence of Fragmented Narratives
The found baby functions as the novel’s most significant point of narrative convergence. Structurally, the child connects Anjum’s graveyard world with Tilo’s Kashmir narrative, embodying Roy’s central storytelling principle. The baby’s lack of a clear origin mirrors the novel’s refusal of neat beginnings. When the child arrives in Jannat, multiple broken trajectories—gender violence, political oppression, communal hatred, and survival—intersect. Rather than resolving trauma, the narrative holds it collectively, proposing an alternative ethic based on shared care. In this moment, the shattered story fully “becomes everything,” as individual suffering is transformed into communal responsibility.
Conclusion
In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, non-linear narration is not a stylistic experiment but a moral and political necessity. Personal, communal, and national traumas cannot be conveyed through linear storytelling. By moving between Khwabgah and Jannat, Old Delhi and Kashmir, and the lives of Anjum and Tilo, Roy constructs a narrative that resists closure and embraces multiplicity. The novel ultimately demonstrates how to tell a shattered story—not by forcing it into artificial coherence, but by allowing it to gradually become everything it has been broken into.
.png)
Activity B: Mapping the Conflict
.png)
Activity C: Automated Timeline & Character Arcs
I. Anjum’s Journey (Aftab → Anjum → Jannat)
1. Birth of Aftab (Pre-Partition Generation)
Aftab is born into a Muslim household in Old Delhi. From birth, Aftab’s body does not fit neatly into the male–female binary, as Aftab is intersex. The family chooses to raise Aftab as a boy, believing that conformity may resolve the ambiguity over time.
Contextual Significance (Lecture Focus):
This stage highlights society’s discomfort with non-normative bodies and identities. From the beginning, Aftab learns that survival often depends on silence, adjustment, or eventual escape from hostile norms.
2. Awareness of Difference and Entry into Khwabgah
As Aftab grows older, bodily difference becomes visible and invites ridicule and exclusion. Drawn toward the hijra community, Aftab eventually leaves home and joins the Khwabgah (House of Dreams), where Aftab is renamed Anjum.
Motivation:
Khwabgah provides a sense of belonging, shared language, ritual, and relative protection. Though imperfect, it offers greater safety than the outside world.
3. Life within the Khwabgah
Anjum learns the customs, kinship structures, performances, and survival strategies of the hijra community. Acceptance here is conditional and structured by internal hierarchies.
Lecture Insight:
Khwabgah functions as a temporary sanctuary rather than a space of complete freedom, reminding us that marginal communities also reproduce power dynamics.
4. Pilgrimage to Gujarat (2002)
Anjum travels to Gujarat with other hijras on a pilgrimage that coincides with the 2002 communal riots. She witnesses widespread violence, arson, and killings, narrowly escaping death herself.
Turning Point:
This moment marks Anjum’s first direct encounter with organized communal violence, shattering the belief that marginality offers protection from state or religious brutality.
5. Return to Delhi and Psychological Retreat
After returning to Delhi, Anjum is deeply traumatized. She suffers from fear, nightmares, and emotional withdrawal, gradually distancing herself from life in the Khwabgah.
Lecture Emphasis:
Trauma renders previously inhabitable spaces unbearable, producing a form of internal exile.
6. Settlement in the Graveyard
Anjum leaves the Khwabgah and begins living in a Muslim graveyard. She builds a small shelter among the dead, finding a sense of control and safety there.
Symbolic Meaning:
The world of the living feels more threatening than the realm of the dead, making the graveyard a paradoxical refuge.
7. Formation of Jannat Guest House
Over time, Anjum’s graveyard dwelling expands into the Jannat Guest House. It becomes a haven for hijras, Dalits, orphans, political dissenters, and other marginalized beings, including animals and plants.
Lecture Interpretation:
Jannat represents an earthly paradise created by the excluded—a counter-space that challenges the violence and exclusions of the nation-state.
II. Saddam Hussain’s Journey (Dalit Son → Renaming → Community)
1. Early Life in a Dalit Family
Saddam is born into a Dalit Muslim family already subjected to caste-based discrimination. His father earns a living through leather work and handling dead animals, occupations stigmatized by society.
2. Lynching of His Father (Cow Vigilante Violence)
His father is brutally lynched by cow vigilantes on false accusations related to cow slaughter or transport. State institutions, including the police, fail to intervene or deliver justice.
Lecture Emphasis:
This violence is systemic rather than accidental, sustained by institutional complicity and impunity.
3. Loss of Faith in Justice
As a child, Saddam witnesses his father’s murder and the absence of accountability. This experience destroys his belief in the law and the state.
Motivation:
He realizes that state power protects perpetrators rather than victims.
4. Renaming Himself “Saddam Hussein”
He abandons his birth name and adopts the name Saddam Hussein as a deliberate political gesture.
Symbolic Significance (Lecture):
The name signals defiance, aligns him with figures vilified by global power, expresses anger at imperial violence, and mirrors his resistance to local state oppression.
5. Longing for Justice and Retaliation
Saddam internalizes grief and rage, initially gravitating toward the idea of revenge.
Lecture Insight:
His anger is rooted in political injustice before it becomes a personal impulse.
6. Migration to Delhi
Seeking work and survival, Saddam leaves his hometown and migrates to Delhi.
7. Meeting Anjum at Jannat Guest House
Saddam encounters Anjum and finds shelter at Jannat Guest House. He develops a deep emotional bond with her and becomes part of the community.
Shift in Motivation:
His trajectory moves from solitary vengeance to collective survival, as Jannat offers a shared ethical framework rather than isolated anger.
III. Convergence of Life Paths
Anjum’s experiences of gender marginalization and communal violence intersect with Saddam’s history of caste oppression and vigilante brutality. Both find refuge in Jannat, a space existing beyond the moral and political order of the nation-state.
Lecture Conclusion:
Their intertwined journeys demonstrate how various forms of violence—rooted in gender, caste, religion, and nationalism—converge. Jannat stands as a living critique of the Indian state, embodying an alternative vision of community and care.
Activity D: The "Audio/Video" Synthesis
Conclusion:
Through its fragmented narrative form, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness unsettles traditional notions of plot, linear development, and closure. The novel demonstrates that trauma—arising from gender exclusion, caste-based violence, communal conflict, or state militarization—cannot be confined to chronological storytelling or reduced to individual experience. Anjum’s movement from the Khwabgah to the graveyard, Saddam Hussain’s self-renaming after witnessing his father’s lynching, and the emergence of Jannat Guest House collectively reveal that survival often demands existing beyond the moral and political boundaries imposed by the nation-state.
The gathering of fractured lives at Jannat does not resolve trauma in a conventional sense; rather, it imagines an alternative ethical framework grounded in shared care, mutual vulnerability, and coexistence. By “slowly becoming everything,” Roy’s narrative brings together voices that dominant histories seek to erase. The novel ultimately argues that shattered lives cannot be forced into artificial unity, but they can be sustained through solidarity. In this way, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness stands not only as a bold formal experiment but also as a powerful political critique of violence, exclusion, and the failures of justice in contemporary India.
For Further Understanding :
Thank You!!!
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment