FL: The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

  The Ministry of Utmost Happiness 

This blog is part of a flipped classroom activity on Arundhati Roy’s modern Indian novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. As part of the task, various video lectures related to the novel were viewed and analyzed. Each section below presents a paraphrased summary of the respective video, focusing on narrative structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

Video 1 : Khwabgah

The first video introduces The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and offers a general overview of its complex narrative and interconnected characters. The novel is difficult to grasp at first because of its fragmented structure and use of magical realism. This difficulty is evident from the opening lines, where Roy creates ambiguity by blending human and natural imagery, leaving readers unsure whether the subject is a person or a tree.

The narrative moves across five major spaces Khwabgah, Jannat Guest House, Jantar Mantar, Kashmir, and Dandakaranya and primarily traces the life of Anjum, a hijra who eventually lives in a graveyard. The second chapter, “Khwabgah,” introduces a blind Imam, Ziauddin, after which the novel shifts into Anjum’s past.

Anjum was born as Aftab to Mulaqat Ali and Jahanara Begum. Their lives are shaken when the midwife, Ahlam Baiji, informs them that the child is intersex. Unable to accept this reality easily, the parents struggle with Aftab’s identity as a hijra. Later, while accompanying his mother to the market, Aftab discovers Khwabgah a home for hijras where he meets others like Mary, Gudiya, Bulbul, Bismillah, Raziya, and Nimmu Gorakhpuri, under the leadership of Begum Kulsoom Bi.

Gradually, Aftab’s parents begin to accept his identity and even seek blessings at Hazrat Sarmad’s shrine. The story of Sarmad executed for reciting an incomplete Kalima and for his love for Abhaychand highlights themes of spiritual defiance and forbidden love.

Aftab later witnesses violence at Jama Masjid and rescues an abandoned child, Zainab, whom he brings to Khwabgah. When Zainab falls sick, Aftab irrationally blames Saeeda, reflecting internal tensions within the hijra community. In desperation, he visits Ajmer Sharif to pray for Zainab’s recovery. Soon after, he travels to Ahmedabad with Zakir Mian, where the narrative introduces the 2002 Gujarat riots.

During the riots, Zakir is brutally killed, while Aftab survives due to the superstition surrounding hijras. This traumatic event deeply scars him, prompting a transformation. Aftab fully becomes Anjum, alters his way of life, and begins living independently at the Jannat Guest House, marking a turning point in his identity and existence.

Video 2 : Jantar Mantar

The second video introduces Saddam Hussain, a significant character who later becomes a resident of the Jannat Guest House. Saddam works at a hospital and was once employed as a security guard. His original name is Dayachand, and he belongs to the Chamar caste of Haryana a community historically marginalized and associated with leather work.

Dayachand’s life changes after his father is lynched by a police officer named Sehravat, falsely accused of killing a cow. This act of caste-based violence fills Dayachand with rage. He renames himself Saddam Hussain, inspired by the execution of the Iraqi leader, and dedicates his life to avenging his father’s death.

The narrative then shifts to Jantar Mantar in Delhi, a symbolic space of protest and resistance. Here, Anjum observes a wide range of protestors representing different social movements figures resembling Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Mothers of the Disappeared, Manipuri activists, Kabadiwalas, and Dr. Azad Bhartiya. This space becomes a collective voice against state power and injustice. Dr. Azad Bhartiya acts as a connecting force among these diverse groups.

While staying at Jantar Mantar, Anjum briefly encounters a baby who mysteriously disappears, adding to the novel’s surreal tone and reinforcing its theme of uncertainty and loss.

Video 3 : Kashmir & Dandakaranya

This section of the lecture explores the deeper political and emotional layers of the novel. The narrative style shifts from third-person to first-person as Piglet, a landlord, recounts his personal experiences. New central characters are introduced, particularly Tilo and Musa, whose lives are closely tied to conflict and resistance.

Musa’s journey into militancy is not portrayed as a simple moral failure but as a consequence of trauma, loss, and political violence in Kashmir. The novel critically examines terrorism, state violence, and the psychological toll of living in a conflict zone. Roy presents both victims and perpetrators as human beings shaped by circumstances rather than as simplistic villains.

The section also highlights how cycles of violence continue endlessly, trapping individuals who seek justice or freedom. A concluding letter reveals how deeply interconnected the characters are, emphasizing that personal lives and political realities cannot be separated. The Kashmir conflict is shown as a human tragedy that scars everyone involved—mentally, emotionally, and socially.

Video 4 : Udaya Jebeen & the Dung Beetle

The final narrative segment, titled Guih Kyom (Dung Beetle), brings the novel toward closure. Tilo is shown teaching children at the guest house, while the presence of graves including Ahlam Baiji’s blurs the boundary between the living and the dead. A reflective line captures the essence of the novel’s fragmented storytelling: “How to tell a shattered story… by slowly becoming everything.”

The tragedy of Musa’s death in an encounter deeply affects the characters. One night, Anjum takes young Udaya Jebeen for a walk through the city. On their way back, they encounter a dung beetle lying helplessly on its back, staring at the sky. This simple image becomes a powerful symbol of resilience and hope.

The novel ends on a hopeful note, suggesting that with the arrival of Udaya Jebeen, healing and renewal are possible. Time, despite its cruelty, carries the promise of change.

Video 5 : Thematic Study

This video explores the major themes of the novel. The Jannat Guest House represents an alternative idea of paradise not something promised after death, but a space of coexistence created through compassion and acceptance.

Roy emphasizes ambiguity and diversity, reflecting India’s cultural, religious, and social complexity. Differences in food habits, rituals, and beliefs symbolize broader issues of coexistence. The novel critiques modernization that benefits a few while displacing the marginalized, advocating inclusive and humane development.

Life and death merge fluidly in the narrative, with memories keeping the dead alive. Storytelling itself becomes central, as Roy uses fragmented narratives to reflect India’s fractured reality. The novel also critiques capitalism, corruption, political violence, and religious extremism.

Despite its bleak realities, the text highlights resilience and hope. Characters endure suffering but survive through solidarity and belief. Udaya Jebeen symbolizes renewal, while Anjum’s transgender identity challenges rigid gender norms and social divisions. Through inclusivity and empathy, Roy imagines the possibility of a more humane India.

Video 6 : Symbols and Motifs

The final video analyzes key symbols in the novel. Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed represents spiritual freedom and love beyond religious boundaries. The Old Man-Baby symbolizes protest movements that begin with hope but are later hijacked by political interests.

The Shiraz Cinema reflects cultural conflict in Kashmir, transforming from a cinema hall into a torture center. The Jannat Guest House symbolizes shelter, inclusivity, and fragile hope. The contrast between Duniya (world) and Jannat (paradise) challenges traditional beliefs about suffering and salvation.

Motherhood is redefined beyond biology, emphasizing care and empathy. Images of bodies and waste highlight caste oppression and systemic injustice. The dung beetle stands as a metaphor for resilience and ecological balance.

“Gujarat ka Lalla” symbolizes aggressive nationalism, while saffron represents religious extremism and violence. Vultures signify environmental loss and silenced dissent. Together, these symbols reinforce Roy’s critique of power, violence, and exclusion in contemporary India.

Worksheet

Activity A: The “Shattered Story” Narrative Form

Textual Analysis of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness adopts a fragmented, non-linear narrative form that mirrors the broken lives of its characters and the deeply divided socio-political landscape of present-day India. As discussed in Prof. Dilip Barad’s video lectures, Roy deliberately avoids a chronological storytelling pattern because experiences of trauma cannot be represented through orderly or logical sequences. Instead, the novel follows the guiding principle articulated in the line, “How to tell a shattered story? By slowly becoming everything,” which shapes both the structure and vision of the text.

The disrupted narrative reflects the psychological damage endured by characters who are affected by gender exclusion, caste discrimination, communal violence, and state oppression. Anjum’s life, for example, does not follow a traditional pattern of growth or progress. Born as Aftab, her early years in Khwabgah provide a limited sense of acceptance within the hijra community of Old Delhi. However, the Gujarat riots become a moment of deep rupture, shattering her identity and sense of temporal continuity. After this traumatic break, the narrative shifts sharply, symbolizing her internal collapse, and relocates her to the graveyard, where she creates the Jannat Guest House. This movement from Khwabgah to the graveyard represents not only a physical relocation but also a symbolic transition into a liminal zone where those rejected by society find refuge.

In a similar manner, Tilo’s story unfolds in fragments rather than a continuous storyline. Her experiences in Kashmir are revealed through letters, recollections, and episodes of political violence. Prof. Barad highlights that although Kashmir occupies a central moral position in the novel, Roy narrates it indirectly to reflect the enforced silences, censorship, and disintegration imposed by the state. Tilo’s relationship with Musa and her encounters with military brutality and enforced disappearances are presented in broken segments, capturing the fractured reality of life in a conflict zone.

The apparent separation between Anjum’s and Tilo’s narratives is eventually bridged through the discovery of a child, Miss Jebeen the Second. This baby becomes a symbolic and narrative link between Anjum’s gendered suffering and the political trauma of Kashmir. Through this connection, Roy demonstrates how individual pain and national history are intertwined. By gradually encompassing multiple marginalized spaces—hijra communities, protest sites, graveyards, and insurgent regions—Roy fulfills the idea of “becoming everything,” giving voice to those excluded from dominant historical and political discourses.

Therefore, the fragmented structure of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is not merely an experimental technique but a conscious ethical stance. By rejecting linear storytelling, Roy refuses to simplify trauma or impose artificial unity on lived suffering. The disjointed narrative compels readers to experience uncertainty and dislocation, mirroring the fractured realities of the characters themselves. In this way, the form of the novel becomes an extension of its theme, powerfully representing trauma, endurance, and the gradual reconstruction of meaning from broken lives.

Activity B: Mapping the Conflict

Activity C: Automated Timeline & Character Development (Auto-Mode with Comet)

Chronological Reconstruction of Key Characters

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness portrays lives fragmented by historical and political violence. When the narrative is reorganized into a chronological sequence, the character arcs clearly show that identity in the novel is shaped less by personal freedom and more by collective trauma and structural oppression. Drawing on insights from Prof. Dilip Barad’s lectures, the following timeline outlines the life journeys of Anjum and Saddam Hussain.

I. Chronological Arc of Anjum (formerly Aftab)

1. Birth and Early Alienation (Old Delhi)

Anjum is born as Aftab into a Muslim household in Old Delhi. From an early age, Aftab feels a profound sense of dislocation due to society’s rigid gender expectations, experiencing a growing disconnect from the male-female binary.

2. Arrival at Khwabgah (Hijra World)

Unable to find acceptance in mainstream society, Aftab finds shelter in Khwabgah, a communal space for hijras. As Prof. Barad explains, Khwabgah functions as a protective yet precarious environment where marginalized identities can survive. It is here that Aftab assumes the name Anjum and affirms her hijra identity.

3. Gujarat Riots and the Experience of Violence (2002)

Anjum’s visit to Gujarat exposes her to the horrors of the 2002 communal riots. She survives a massacre and witnesses extreme brutality, an experience that permanently scars her psyche. Prof. Barad identifies this episode as the central turning point that fractures Anjum’s emotional and psychological stability.

4. Emotional Breakdown and Social Withdrawal

Following her return, Anjum becomes increasingly silent and detached, unable to reconnect with life in Khwabgah. Roy’s narrative reflects this breakdown through repetition, gaps, and abrupt transitions, emphasizing the lingering effects of trauma.

5. Relocation to the Graveyard

Anjum eventually leaves Khwabgah and chooses to live in a graveyard, preferring a space of the dead to a society that continues to produce violence. This decision symbolizes her exclusion from the social order as well as her rejection of its moral failures.

6. Establishment of the Jannat Guest House

Over time, Anjum transforms the graveyard into the Jannat Guest House, offering shelter to those abandoned by society transgender individuals, Dalits, orphans, and victims of political unrest. As Prof. Barad notes, this phase marks Anjum’s evolution from a survivor of violence into a figure of care, reshaping ideas of family, motherhood, and belonging.

II. Chronological Arc of Saddam Hussain (formerly Dayachand)

1. Birth within Caste Marginality

Saddam Hussain is born as Dayachand into a Dalit family, growing up within entrenched systems of caste-based inequality and economic deprivation.

2. Murder of His Father through Cow Vigilantism

Dayachand’s life is irreversibly altered when his father is lynched on allegations of cow slaughter. This act of violence exposes the convergence of caste prejudice, religious nationalism, and institutional failure. Prof. Barad highlights this moment as the defining trauma of Saddam’s life.

3. Renaming as "Saddam Hussain" 

In response to this injustice, Dayachand adopts the name Saddam Hussain. As explained in the lectures, this renaming functions as an act of resistance and irony, challenging dominant narratives of power both within India and on a global scale.

4. Work in the Mortuary

Saddam finds employment in a mortuary, a space that constantly reminds him of death and disposability. His proximity to corpses symbolizes his position as one of the “socially dead” produced by contemporary political and economic systems.

5. Meeting Anjum

Saddam’s path eventually leads him to Anjum at the Jannat Guest House. Their meeting connects two lives shaped by different forms of systemic violence—communal hatred and caste oppression—revealing their shared marginalization.

6. Inclusion within the Jannat Collective

Saddam becomes part of the inclusive community created by Anjum, where shared suffering replaces rigid divisions of caste, religion, and gender. This space offers a fragile yet meaningful alternative to the violence of the outside world.

Concluding Reflection:

When examined chronologically, the lives of Anjum and Saddam Hussain illustrate how personal histories in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness are inseparable from national trauma. As Prof. Dilip Barad emphasizes, these timelines demonstrate that Roy’s novel functions not only as a work of fiction but also as a political record of lives shattered and tentatively reconstructed by the realities of modern India.

References :

DoE-MKBU. (2021a, December 28). Part 1 | Khwabgah | The Ministry of Utmost Happiness | Arundhati Roy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-29vE53apGs

DoE-MKBU. (2021b, December 28). Part 2 | Jantar Mantar | The Ministry of Utmost Happiness | Arundhati Roy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr1z1AEXPBU

DoE-MKBU. (2021c, December 28). Part 3 | Kashmir and Dandakaranyak | The Ministry of Utmost Happiness | Arundhati Roy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIKH_89rML0

DoE-MKBU. (2021d, December 28). Part 4 | Udaya Jebeen & Dung Beetle | The Ministry of Utmost Happiness | Arundhati Roy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH5EULOFP4g

DoE-MKBU. (2021e, December 30). Symbols and Motifs | The Ministry of Utmost Happiness | Arundhati Roy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBOqLB487U

DoE-MKBU. (2021f, December 30). Thematic Study | The Ministry of Utmost Happiness | Arundhati Roy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NYSTUTBoSs