Space of Inclusion and Exclusion in 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'

 Space of Inclusion and Exclusion in 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'

Personal Information :-

Name: Rahul Desai 

Roll No. 22

Semester : 4

Paper No. 207

Paper Name : Contemporary Literature in English 

Assignment Topic : Space of Inclusion and Exclusion in 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' 

Submitted To : Department of English, M.K. Bhavnagar University 

Email ID : rahuldesai477@gmail.com

Introduction :-

'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' published in 2017. The socioeconomic situation in Delhi and Kashmir is depicted by the Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Anjum and Tilo, two characters that are crucial to the plot, are described by Arundhati Roy as experiencing distress. Anjum is a member of the third sex group known as "transgender" or "othered" worldwide. Her real name is Aftab (Anjum); she and nine other transgender people leave their home to live in New Delhi, which is a sophisticated and ideal place for them to dwell. This essay focuses on social psychological problems, rural-to-urban migration, and global illness in developing nations like India. Finally, the war fight in Srinagar and Kashmir, the pain brought on by social class and society, and the stereotypical sickness brought on by the arousal of the third gendered space. the worldwide illness of marginalization brought on by India's urbanization as a result of politics, conflict, and corruption.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness depicts Indian politics in the post-colonial era. Roy highlights the corruption in the political parties in Kashmir, which involves the Indian army, Indian communists or reformists who oppose the occupation of Kashmir, Kashmiri natives, and activities that oppose military possession. Roy also highlights how the political elites abandoned and hegemonized the Indian population following the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan.  Arundhati Roy depicts the internal conflict in the nation. The region, which is 222,236 square kilometers and serves as a prestigious hegemony for both India and Pakistan, is the subject of a dispute between the political leaders of both nations due to globalization and illness. The primary lenses of the paper are globalization, corruption, gender displacement, and diseases brought on by land occupation. (Priyadarsini, & R. Rajavelu)

Definition of Inclusion & Exclusion :-

Inclusion :- 

The act of actively embracing, appreciating, and welcoming people with different identities and histories within a group or society is known as inclusion. It entails establishing settings in which individuals, irrespective of distinctions like color, gender, ability, or financial background, feel valued, accepted, and free to engage completely. Beyond merely being there, inclusion places a strong emphasis on meaningful involvement, equal access, and acknowledging each person's unique contributions in a way that values diversity and advances equity.

“Inclusion is not simply about being physically present in a space, but about being meaningfully integrated and engaged in a way that respects and values diversity.” (Burkholder)

Exclusion :-

The process through which people or groups are routinely excluded from a community or society's resources, opportunities, involvement, or acceptability is known as exclusion. It entails being marginalized because of perceived differences, which can be overt or covert. Examples of these disparities include race, ethnicity, religion, handicap, or social class. Because exclusion limits some people from participating fully in or making contributions to the group, it perpetuates social hierarchies and injustices.

“Exclusion is often shaped by stereotypes and prejudice, and it results in some individuals being positioned as outsiders or as less deserving of inclusion.” (Burkholder)

The Graveyard as a Space of Inclusion :-

Michel Foucault, a philosopher, coined the term "heterotopia" to refer to discursive places that are in some way "other." Roy used this idea of heterotopias in her book to further explore her protagonist's transgressive expression. Several heterotopic spaces are used in the story. Anjum's house is a graveyard, which is an example of a heterotopic environment. She also lives in Kawabagh after leaving her accommodation there, which is another heterotopic area. In order to uncover heterotopia that contradicts the norms and values of the typical, surveyed city places, Anjum is used. 

“In that setting, Anjum would ordinarily have been in some danger. But her desolation protected her. Unleashed at last from social protocol, it rose up around her in all its majesty-a fort, with ramparts, turrets, hidden dungeons and walls that hummed like an approaching mob.” (Roy, 61p) Even though there are some homeless individuals and drug addicts living in some areas of the graveyard, Anjum felt safe there. She therefore views this cemetery as a place of desolation rather than a "home," which she also finds to be dependable in other ways. (Santra)

The graveyard is changed by Arundhati Roy from a place of death and silence to a vibrant haven of resistance and inclusivity. Anjum, a hijra who is shunned by her family and society, finds refuge in the graveyard in the center of Old Delhi. Following the pain of social marginalization and communal violence, Anjum relocates to the cemetery and builds the Jannat Guest House, which ironically translates to "Paradise." Here, the deceased live with the living, and the cemetery serves as a haven for various marginalized groups, such as Dalits, stray animals, abandoned children, and other hijras. Through compassion and community, rather than the state, religion, or patriarchal order, this act reinterprets what space means in the novel.

Roy employs the cemetery as a metaphor for a different kind of societal structure that accepts people who are marginalised. The graveyard promotes healing, dignity, and a sense of belonging in sharp contrast to the violence and exclusion that exist in the outside world. It is a utopian place where identities can cohabit in a fluid way without being limited by caste, gender, or religion. As a result, the cemetery transforms into a bold representation of resistance and optimism, providing a compassionate, inclusive, and profoundly human picture of India. Roy offers a vision of unity in fragmentation and challenges the systems of power through this reclaimed space.

Urban Spaces and Marginalization :-

Kashmiri Muslims are at the top of the list of the marginalised class, as demonstrated by the Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Musa Yeswi's character suffers at the hands of the Indian military. He stands for everyone who is striving for freedom but is labelled an insurgent because their efforts claim the lives of their loved ones. Following the violent deaths of his wife Arifa and daughter Miss Jebeen the first, Tilotama weds Musa. She endures physical abuse at the hands of the Indian army, which humiliates her and causes her mental anguish. The political unrest in Kashmir has killed numerous innocent people and disrupted the peace and harmony of the entire country. India will use the Kashmir conflict as a means of self-destruction (Raj, 2018).

When the conflict ended, "graveyards became as common as multi-story parking lots" in Kashmir (Roy, 2017, pp. 319). In terms of colonising the bourgeoisie that "should fail to live up to its own universalising project," Guha (1999) contends that colonialism could continue to exist as a power relationship in the Indian subcontinent (Chakrabarty 2000, pp. 476). Therefore, the colonial authority is still able to retain its control in Kashmir, which is the colony of the still-colonized people. The lives of its ordinary residents have been destroyed by military actions. In Kashmir, it has become commonplace to torture innocent individuals in the name of militancy and to impose harsh punishments on suspicion. Roy has also portrayed this aspect of persecution in the book. The state's authorities were ignoring the heartbreaking and pitiful accounts of the mothers of the missing in Kashmir. In the name of nationalism, Modi's Gujarati janissaries were degrading these people. The novel depicts such moments, for as when "young men spat at the photographs of the dead and missing Kashmiri men" at Jantar Mantar, humiliating the protesters (Roy, 2017, pp. 115).

Spivak defines "old subaltern" as a group of people who have been denied all forms of social mobility and expelled from their place and space because they have failed to achieve greater prominence (Jong & Mascat, 2016). Because they are elderly subalterns, the government does not care about the wretched living conditions of the poor, marginalised individuals who reside in the slums. Additionally, Roy's pen has been raised in support of the victims of the Union Carbide gas industry catastrophe in Bhopal. Since no one seems to care about the higher loss of human lives and organs, her pen grip appears firm, and her tone is caustic as she documents the victims' case in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Those who survived, will “have to manage with their same old organs” (Roy, 2017). (Khan, Hamid, Rahman, Khalique, & Shahida)

Cities like Delhi, where opulent shopping centres and governmental buildings coexist with dilapidated neighbourhoods, temporary shelters, and abandoned cemeteries, come to represent India's widening sociopolitical differences. The poor are frequently displaced, histories are erased, and criticism is silenced as a result of urban expansion and beautification. The story depicts the real and symbolic exile of the urban poor, hijras, Dalits, Muslims, and political dissidents to the outside of the city's awareness. Characters like Saddam Hussain, who roams the outskirts of the city, and Anjum, who lives in a cemetery, represent people who are often shut out of the benefits of contemporary urban life. They are forced to create their own areas of resistance and survival as the city does not provide them with safety, respect, or dignity. Roy juxtaposes the secret, turbulent, and frequently violent realities of living in the shadows with the official, sanitized urban areas. By doing this, she exposes how the city's design reinforces inequality and invisibility while also criticizing the appearance of progress in urban India. Roy uses urban geography as a potent lens through which the reader can comprehend marginalization in modern-day India thanks to her nuanced representation.

The novel also discusses Shiraz Cinema as a heterotopic site. This place in Kashmir was used for movie screenings before being transformed into an interrogation center for the Army and police. Roy's character travels in gender, class, and caste consciousness throughout the work, expressing heterotopic regions. These are primarily apparent in the protagonist's characterization. The plot follows the streets of Delhi, Kashmir, and a few other places that are special in their own right. As a woman, Tilo has found it challenging to live in an apartment owned by Das, which is in contrast to the Anjum's quarters. (Santra)

Kashmir as a Space of Conflict and Exclusion :-

In her fictionalization of reality, she revealed the contentious Kashmir, emphasizing the Muslim aspirations of Kashmiris, their physical and emotional conditions, the true meaning of "Azadi" that the valley requires, and the cruelty that they receive in exchange. The novel's Kashmir plot centers on two characters: Naga, a successful mainstream journalist who was formerly a radical left student and Tilo's temporary husband; and Musa, Tilo's lover and official member of the Kashmiri resistance after his wife, Arifa, and daughter, Miss Jabeen, are killed in a massacre on the balcony outside their home. Tilo is a very independent and enigmatic woman who appears to have no caste, past, or family.

He should do everything in his power as a public servant to lessen the violence in the city where he is stationed. But his bland admiration for the violence shows how unconcerned he and the administration have grown with it, as well as how they might not even be making an effort to control it. Actually, Aijaz tells Naga that the army provides the terrorists with their ammo. ‘They do not want the militancy to end. They are very happy with the situation as it is. Everybody on all sides is making money on the bodies of young Kashmiris.’ (p. 228). After reading Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, reading Kashmiri fiction only confirms what she claims in her book. In his graphic novel Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir, Malik Sajad meticulously depicts some of the most horrific atrocities that occur in Kashmir. In the book, the troops are severely beaten. "The anatomy of his (soldier's) crotch became visible as he rubbed Munnu's hand against it," the soldier said after grabbing Munnu's hand and pulling it towards his belt when the troops arrived at his shop. (page 142) Munnu was limited to drawing less contentious pictures during his career as a cartoonist for small newspapers. (Prakash)

Women in Kashmir are particularly vulnerable, and their bravery in going out into the streets and continuing their lives stems from this vulnerability. Khadija, a Kashmiri woman, reminds Tilo of their inner strength and perseverance, and the hijab, pheran, and salwar kameez give them a sense of security that Tilo finds admirable. The nation, which has been torn apart by years of conflict, suggests various forms of oppression when it comes to women. “Women are not allowed. Women are not allowed. Women are not allowed” (Roy 2017, p. 187). This is written in italics by Roy. The issue keeps coming up in Khadija's head, but Tilo doesn't ask her about the limitations and injustices that are prevalent in Kashmiri women's social lives. The episode involving Tilo's choice and the process associated with medical termination of pregnancy, or MTP, is another noteworthy example of how Roy discusses the intricate relationship between space and body. Everyone at the hospital, including the doctor, finds it deplorable, especially when the woman is not with her "guardian." There is “hostility and disgust” (Roy 2017, p. 392). (Gopinath)

The Khwabgah: A Space of Inclusion and Exclusion :-

“The Khwabgah was called Khwabgah, ..., because it was where special people, blessed people, came out with their dreams that could not be realized in the Duniya. In the Khwabgah, Holy Souls trapped in the wrong bodies were liberated” (Roy 2017, p. 53). The novel is "a genuine paean for the patched integrity of the dispossessed and brutalised," in addition to subverting the hegemonic interactions between gender and location (Lahiri 2017). Aftab finds comfort in the house as a thirdspace, and the space's boundless potential is symbolised by Aftab's gender flexibility. Furthermore, spaces can be oppressive, and Anjum and Tilo gain power as a result of their agreements with space. "Aftab entered a different world at the age of fifteen, just a few hundred yards from the place where his family has resided for centuries" (Roy 2017, p. 25). (Gopinath)

The Khwabgah, which literally translates to "sleeping quarters," is the home of numerous transsexual women who are like family to one another in the book. When he first learns about the Khwabgah as a teenager, Anjum, an intersex person who was gendered male as a child but later changes to a female identity, falls in love with it. After she moves there, Khwabgah members support and encourage her to have surgery to change her gender. Anjum is among the Khwabgah members who engage in sex work. The head of the Khwabgah, Ustad Kulsoom Bi, is responsible for deciding who is allowed to stay and what the house's rules are. The Khwabgah is portrayed by Arundhati Roy as a very symbolic location that represents both isolation and inclusion. For Anjum and other members of the Hijra community, the Khwabgah, which literally translates to "The House of Dreams," provides a rare respite in a society that would otherwise marginalise them. Within its boundaries, the inhabitants reinterpret gender and social conventions to establish an alternate kind of family and connection. The prevailing narratives of heteronormativity, caste, and patriarchy are challenged by this dreamlike microcosm of acceptance, which turns into a place of emotional safety, camaraderie, and shared identity. The drawbacks of such a refuge are also revealed in the narrative. The Khwabgah is not exempt from the harsh reality of institutionalised prejudice and communal violence, despite its assurance of belonging. The vulnerability of this welcoming environment is highlighted by Anjum's experience during the Gujarat riots and the trauma she bears with her. Although the Khwabgah stands for resistance and optimism, it also highlights how powerless marginalised groups are to break free from the social institutions that keep them out. The Khwabgah is a potent metaphor for the shattered ideals of contemporary India because Roy uses it to examine the conflict between the utopian dream and the actual experiences of exclusion. (Roy 2017)

Religious and Political Spaces of Exclusion :-

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness tackles a variety of problems that modern Indian society faces. Religion is one of the most prominent of these different struggles; a large portion of the violence that the characters witness and encounter in the book is caused by disputes between Muslims and Hindus. Roy shows how religious intolerance and bloodshed in India are exacerbated by religious extremism in both religions. By doing this, she draws attention to how dangerous it is to let religious beliefs influence politics. The growth of Hindu nationalism and the brutality Muslims in mainland India faced at the hands of Hindu extremists following the division of Pakistan and India are frequently mentioned in the first half of the book. Due to attacks by Hindu extremists, Anjum vanishes while on a pilgrimage to a Muslim house of worship. These attacks are allegedly in retaliation for "Pakistani terrorists" burning a train carrying Hindus. "A weaselly 'unofficial spokesperson' announces unofficially that every action would be met with an equal and opposite reaction" in delivery of this news. Here, Roy's highlights the "unofficial" character of this declaration, which quite clearly encourages the murder of Muslims in retaliation for their alleged assault on Hindus.

The ruling party uses an unofficial spokesperson to state this in order to uphold the appearance that the government is not formally supporting the killing of Muslim residents. However, it is concerning that anyone connected to the administration would publicly make such a claim, since it shows how severely Hindu nationalism has infiltrated the nation's mainstream politics. A politician with strong ties to the Hindu nationalist movement, Gujarat ka Lalla, "swept the polls and was the new Prime Minister" years later. People began to worship him, and tiny communities saw the emergence of temples dedicated to him. Politics and religion are practically inseparable for Lalla's fans, as seen by their decision to celebrate his victory by elevating him to the status of a deity. It is obvious that the country's ongoing aggression against religious minorities is made possible by the merging of religion and governance.

Roy demonstrates how fanatical Islam only serves to further the violence in the area and drive people apart, even though she is generally far more critical of the Hindu fundamentalist regime than she is of the Muslim resistance in Kashmir. One day in Kashmir, "the emerging hardline faction of militants" kills Usman Abdullah, "a prominent ideologue in the struggle for Azadi," whom he publicly opposed. Among other reasons, Abdullah, a university professor of an older generation, supported the "worshipping of home-grown saints and seers at local shrines," which the more radical Muslim factions asserting control of Kashmir found objectionable. Even while Kashmiris share a common yearning for independence, the new generation of militants was able to turn this desire into an extremist one by interpreting the Kashmiri word for freedom, Azadi, as "what does freedom mean? Allah is the one God. The precedent for an intolerant Kashmir is set by this understanding of freedom, which actually severely restricts the freedom of any civilians who would live under the control of these extremists. With an ideology like this, the citizens would probably still face some level of religious conflict and violence even if the militants were to gain independence. Roy draws attention to the threat that a lack of separation between church and state poses to the safety and liberties of its citizens by depicting the radicalism of religiously associated political leadership among both Muslims and Hindus. (Litcharts)

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Conclusion :-

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy deftly examines the changing dynamics of inclusion and exclusion through the political, religious, emotional, and physical environments that her characters live in. The novel shows how marginalized people fight to reclaim spaces that are denied to them by a society built around strict hierarchies of gender, caste, religion, and power, from the precarious haven of the Khwabgah to the contested terrains of graveyards, hospitals, and battle zones. Roy portrays the ongoing balancing act between hope and despair, resistance and weakness, rather than providing easy fixes. By doing this, the book turns into a potent critique of modern-day India, where the aspiration for inclusivity is continuously in danger but is tenaciously upheld by those who have been most marginalized. In the end, these places both actual and symbolic remind us that the struggle for respect and acceptance is not just a personal struggle but also a profoundly political one.

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DoE-MKBU. "Khwabgah" The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy. 2021. https://youtu.be/-29vE53apGs?si=pi0j-DODlNgIkQOM. 

Gopinath, Sapna. "Gendered Spaces Captured in Cultural Representations: Conceptualising the Indian Experience in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness." 2019. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/1/2#:~:text=324).,104).

Khan, Fayaz & Hamid, Abdul & Rahman, Ghani & Khalique, Shahida & Article, Original. (2021). MARGINALIZATION STRATEGIES IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS. 7. 2523-1227. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362218593_MARGINALIZATION_STRATEGIES_IN_ARUNDHATI_ROY'S_THE_MINISTRY_OF_UTMOST_HAPPINESS. Accessed 03 April. 2025.

Litcharts. "Religion and Power." https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-ministry-of-utmost-happiness/themes/religion-and-power#:~:text=The%20Ministry%20of%20Utmost%20Happiness%20addresses%20a%20wide%20range%20of,because%20of%20Hindu%20extremist%20attacks.

Prakash, Shiv Nayan. "The representation of Kashmir in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: A Comparative Study." Vol: 11, No. 7. July 2023. ISSN: 2320-2882. https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2307177.pdf. Accessed 03 April. 2025.

Priyadarsini, S., R. Rajavelu. "Urbanization and Social Maladies: A Study of Arundhati Roy’s “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness." vol. 14, no. 8, 2021. https://bbrc.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Galley-proof-44-URBANIZATION-AND-SOCIAL-MALADIES.pdf. Accessed 03 Apr. 2025.

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