Chapter # 1

Introduction

Arundhati Roy is one of those Indian English writers who occupy a typical place as a
novelist in English literature. She is one of the women writers who are working to create
a new space for Indian woman writing. Her acceptance as a novelist is because of her
ability to portray sensitive spheres of human life and social relations. In The Ministry of
Utmost Happiness, Roy gives a critical view of the dilemma of deviant gender and
intersex women in particular.

The term intersex refers to individual whose lifestyle does not suite the typical definition
of male or female. Intersex qualities include of variations in reproductive organs,
chromosomal patterns, genitals and hormones, which empower us to label their sex as
male or female. Intersex woman is also considered as binary biological sex. She does not
fit the exact definition of what is normally considered as female.

The hero of Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is an intersex woman, Anjum, is
brought into the world with both genders. Her family needs her to be a kid, yet she acts
and dresses like lady. Then, at that point, she is dismissed by her folks and compelled to
live in a little house in graveyard. At the time when she chooses to turn into a woman, she
joins the local area of Hijra called "the Khwabgah," or "the House of Dreams," where a
gathering of transgender individuals live respectively and reinforce their local area
through a historical story. Although “the House of Dreams” seems to be an ideal place for
them, Hijras suffer from their social position as outsiders and insiders at the same time.
Moreover, Hijras have suffered from people’s negative view of them, the unethical
treatment of the surgeon in sex reassignment surgery, and the power struggle and conflict
between old and new generation Hijras in “the House of Dreams.” Later, Anjum leaves
“the House of Dreams” to live in the graveyard where she sets up the Jannat Guest
House, or Paradise. The Jannat Guest House becomes the place where Anjum welcomes

1
other Hijras who leave the rigid structural power of the established Hijra Gharanas. With
Anjum’s desire to be liberated from heteronormative society and the hierarchical system,
she comes to live within the territory of the graveyard, where she forms connections with
other Hijras.

Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is being mostly debated as it uncovers

unspeakable issue. The novel deals mainly with the difficulties faced by intersex
community in India. Roy discusses different issues concerning this community of
transgender. She tries to describe their suffering, worries, sorrows and hopes.

The present work is an attempt to evaluate the topic of the representation of transgender
in Arundhati Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The novel has a considerable
attention since its publication on 2017.

Background of the Study

Transgender groups have existed for a long time in history, but they have never been
considered as the third gender. Their existence has been ignored in society. They are a
marginal group who are never given any chance or opportunity, and they also face
personal sorrows and sufferings because of Identity crisis.

Throughout history, one must find how the transgender, their prestige, status, political
associations, hierarchies, occupational position have been affected with time and space.
Hence, we can say that transgender identity is intersected by multiple discourses.
Moreover, the hijras try their best to adjust themselves in the dynamic world. Hence, the
representation of their identities and the roles they play in society today are in constant
flow. The rise of such complicated and fluid identities also speaks about the discursive
and structural conditions that guide the contours of any identity movement today. Hijras
not only defy the ostensibly resolute structures and norms concerning gender identities,
they themselves give rise to multiple and contending voices. There are also some
instances of hijras participating in democratic political processes and taking up leadership
position to serve the society. The more the hijras claim their specificity, the more they
become aware of their differences at multiple levels thereby weakening their solidarity.
For a nuanced politics of third gender movement, internal differences are often

2
constitutive. The major puzzle before the hijras today is to not only to address sexual
differences, but rather to fight for the establishment of a new, tolerant and de-binarized
order in which hijras would be accepted not only as transgender people but as hijras.

Several scholars argue how the category of a third sex had been a part of the Indian
worldview for more than three thousand years. It is true that the hijra1 identity, status and
prestige have a considerably long heritage, which is grounded in religious practices and
spiritual belief systems. The hijras through diverse historical periods have been existing
not just as an excluded marginalized group socially, economically and politically; rather
they were equally influenced by their generalized other, that is the mainstream society
within which they lived along with the groups in power. For different reasons, the hijras
always held an ambiguous social identity as the society responded differently and often in
a confused manner to their existence. Ever since their known existence, they have been in
demand as the harem guard, body guard, chamberlains, domestic servants and laborer in
different parts of the world including India[CITATION Kha151 \l 1033 ].Being sexually non-
procreating, not having a family of their own, and sexually non-harming, the society at
large accepted them. In India, since the time of Chandragupta Maura, they survived and
performed significant functions for the political masters. However, changes in political
situation with the introduction of democracy as well as changes in socio-economic
condition brought the hijras at crossroads. Looking at the hijras and the connotations
associated with them through the Mughal period, the colonial and the post-colonial
period, I would like to argue how the hijras identity got influenced by the spatiotemporal
contexts.

It has been documented that during the Mughal era, the hijras were held in high regard,
and often considered divine beings. Studies have shown ―their place and function at
royal and imperial courts‖, during the proceedings of the Mughal courts in the mediaeval
period[ CITATION Tou02 \l 1033 ]. They held positions like that of political advisers,
administrators, generals and guardians of the kings, chief and nobles. Hijras were
considered intelligent, reliable and extremely loyal [ CITATION Mic15 \l 1033 ] .
Consequently, many of them had free access to all areas and populations, thereby playing
a crucial role in the proceedings of imperial rule in the Mughal era. Simultaneously, the

3
hijras also held high positions in Islamic religious institutions; especially they played a
role in guarding the holy places of Mecca and Medina. They were treated as the confidant
of religious heads as well as the kings; they could influence the decisions of the state that
often were patronized with material and non-material powers. The general people were
sympathetic to them and the traditional role of the eunuch, as they also used to guard the
women of the harems and their children[ CITATION Nan90 \l 1033 ]

With the onset of colonial rule from the 18th century onwards, the situation changed
drastically for the hijra community. The advent and crystallization of British rule in India
was especially significant since it marked a critical moment of transformation not only in
power dynamics, but also in cultural, social, intellectual and legal realms of Indian
society. Such transformation impacted greatly to impact the hijra identity making.
According to scholars like Bernard Cohn (1996), Ronald Inden (1992) and Nicholas
Dirks (2001), colonialism was not only restricted to the introduction of European political
and economic institutions through the use of superior British military and financial
forces; it was also extended to the cultural, intellectual and domestic realm of the Indian
society. With the introduction of European ideas, modes of representation, and techniques
of governance were being extended to the everydayness of the Indian life world. Hence,
new and dynamic fields of encounter were created in realms like religion, traditions,
social relationships, domesticity, notions of masculinity and femininity, caste and gender
which continues to influence many of our present day modern understandings and have
shaped our perception of what constitutes the hijras.

The lives of hijras are different today in India, because of the kind of knowledge that was
created and the laws that were introduced when the British came. The whole concept of
unnatural and natural was defined in this process. What is to be noted is, as [ CITATION
Gan09 \l 1033 ] illustrates, the representations of the 19th century were carried forward to
the 20th century as well. With increasing urbanization, English education, and
Westernization of values, the role of traditional ritual figures like the hijras became
luminal. Despite the repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act in 1952 and the recognition of
hijras as a ―third gender by the Indian Supreme Court in 2014, the stigmatization of
hijras during the British Raj has lasting effects. So, the 19th century ethos left a long-

4
lasting impact on how the hijras are perceived till date. It is interesting to note here that
some hijras have expressed their desire to return to the Mughal era as they are suffering a
lot now and most of them live in abject poverty. Kali Hijra, a leader of the hijras in Bihar,
said ―We want restoration of our recognition on the pattern of Mughal era[CITATION Hij \l
1033 ]. Hijras, who had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha and assembly
elections in Patna, said, in the wake of social boycott the hijras faced, we have now
grouped in the state and formed welfare associations demanding right to employment,
marriage and child adoption among other things.

With Arundhati Roy’s second novel, we discover many aspects of Indian society and
events. However, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, deals with many dimensions as:
politics, religion conflicts, the hijra’s life through the characters Anjum, Sadam Husein,
and Tilottama. Roy presented herself through Tilottama life, in which sharing some of
her experiences. Arundhati was smart to combine all the events and cultures of Indian
Society. The dominant theme in the Ministry of Utmost Happiness is intersex, which is
described with the character Anjum. Roy studied this category as long as was ignored in
the society. However, intersex people are facing biological problems since birth and that
latter creates a discrimination and rejection. The novel tackles many angles such as:
feminism, gender, masculinity, femininity, and sexuality in which all round in the
intersex.

Research Questions

On the basis of research background that has been mentioned earlier, the researchers
formulate the questions of the study as under:

1.What are the transgender issues in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness?

2.How is the Arundhati Roy’s worldview on transgender in The Ministry of Utmost

Happiness?

Objectives of the Study

This research deals with the following objectives:

5
1.To describe transgender issues in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.

2.To find out Arundhati Roy worldview on transgender in The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness.

Scope and Limitation

The present work centers on analyzing the transgender issues and Arundhati Roy’s
worldview on transgender in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The limitation of the
research is based on the problems of the study. It is only confined to the structure of the
novel such as characters, plot and setting, and Arundhati Roy’s worldview of the
transgender in her novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.

Theoretical Framework

Our research applies Roen’s transgender theory. Transgender theory derived from queer
theory and feminist theory. It is the idea that each individual is the expert on their own
gender, gender experience, and ultimately has autonomy over their own body.
Transgender theory is used to explain transgender identities and lived experience.
Transgender theory goes beyond its basis of feminist theory and queer theory to look at
gender fluidity, lived experiences, social constructs of gender, and the person being the
expert on their own gender. In this theory, someone’s identity should always be
respected, but is not seen as permanent and can change at any time. Therefore, a conflict
is posed with feminist theory and queer theory that would assume identities to be
stagnant. Feminist theory challenged patriarchal dominance by believing that the male
body is not stronger or more valuable than the female body. However, they were talking
about cisgender people, and feminists started to wonder if not upholding equity in all
aspects was against its own moral compass.

Transgender theory was developed to explain the existence of transgender and gender
diverse people and takes into account their lived experiences including how they interact
within their environment. The transgender theory model centers gender fluidity over

6
 biology and views each individual as the expert on their own gender without suggesting
pathology or deviance.

The word transgender in transgender theory is meant to encompass many identities

including transgender men, transgender women, gender queer, gender diverse, nonbinary,
agender, bigender, genderfluid, genderless, polygender, two spirit individuals, and many
more. Intersex people may also identify as transgender or cisgender. Transgender is
typically used as an umbrella term to mean anyone who self identifies or expresses
themselves as something different than their sex assigned at birth.

In fact, that some intersex characteristics are identified at birth while others until puberty
or later in life, they discover that are intersex. Beside, intersex people are more common
in the society; experts estimate that 1.7 are born intersex traits according to the same
number who are born with red hair. Besides, being intersex means being associates to
biological sex characteristics, and differs from person’s sexual orientation or gender
identity. Thus, the intersex may be straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and asexual. Though,
they may identify as female, male, both or neither.

Intersex people are frequently subjected to discrimination and abuse from the moment
they knew that are intersex. However, the anti-discrimination laws do not typically forbid
discrimination towards intersex persons; they face vulnerability in a range of
discriminatory practices. For example, access to health services, education, public
services, employment and sports. Furthermore, health-care professionals face the absence
of training and understanding in how dealing with specific needs health care of intersex
individuals, and supply them with appropriate health care, also should respect their
autonomy and rights in a way of physical integrity and health.

Nazir 9
Conclusion
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a voice of the subaltern people, first half of the
novel is the representation of the intersex community of old Delhi. In India,
intersex
communities are facing various social, political, economic, and cultural prejudices and biases.
The ancient Indian intersex people were living a respectable and content life. Contemporary
India is facing cultural, social, political, and economic anarchy, and in the prevailing chaos, the
minorities such as LGBTs and others suffer. The intersex community has not been given in

7
proper representation in social and political domains. The intersex community has been
given
limited space in mainstream literature. Yet, there are exceptions like Arundhati Roy’s
The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness. As literature is considered the representation of life, Roy’s novel
gives this marginal community such representation and prominence in the plot. She highlights
the social, political, and economic inhibitions and difficulties that the intersex guild faces and
comes across in the overall interaction of life. Building the premise on this
prolonged
discrimination, Roy’s text has represented the general trauma and pain of this community into
the various domains of Indian society at large.
Nazir 9
Conclusion
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a voice of the subaltern people, first half of the
novel is the representation of the intersex community of old Delhi. In India,
intersex
communities are facing various social, political, economic, and cultural prejudices and biases.
The ancient Indian intersex people were living a respectable and content life. Contemporary
India is facing cultural, social, political, and economic anarchy, and in the prevailing chaos, the
minorities such as LGBTs and others suffer. The intersex community has not been given in
proper representation in social and political domains. The intersex community has been
given
limited space in mainstream literature. Yet, there are exceptions like Arundhati Roy’s
The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness. As literature is considered the representation of life, Roy’s novel
gives this marginal community such representation and prominence in the plot. She highlights
the social, political, and economic inhibitions and difficulties that the intersex guild faces and
comes across in the overall interaction of life. Building the premise on this
prolonged
discrimination, Roy’s text has represented the general trauma and pain of this community into
the various domains of Indian society at large.
Nazir 9
Conclusion
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a voice of the subaltern people, first half of the
novel is the representation of the intersex community of old Delhi. In India,
intersex
communities are facing various social, political, economic, and cultural prejudices and biases.
The ancient Indian intersex people were living a respectable and content life. Contemporary
India is facing cultural, social, political, and economic anarchy, and in the prevailing chaos, the
minorities such as LGBTs and others suffer. The intersex community has not been given in
proper representation in social and political domains. The intersex community has been
given
limited space in mainstream literature. Yet, there are exceptions like Arundhati Roy’s
The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness. As literature is considered the representation of life, Roy’s novel
gives this marginal community such representation and prominence in the plot. She highlights

8
the social, political, and economic inhibitions and difficulties that the intersex guild faces and
comes across in the overall interaction of life. Building the premise on this
prolonged
discrimination, Roy’s text has represented the general trauma and pain of this community into
the various domains of Indian society at large.
Nazir 9
Conclusion
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a voice of the subaltern people, first half of the
novel is the representation of the intersex community of old Delhi. In India,
intersex
communities are facing various social, political, economic, and cultural prejudices and
biases.
The ancient Indian intersex people were living a respectable and content life.
Contemporary
India is facing cultural, social, political, and economic anarchy, and in the prevailing chaos, the
minorities such as LGBTs and others suffer. The intersex community has not been given
in
proper representation in social and political domains. The intersex community has been
given
limited space in mainstream literature. Yet, there are exceptions like Arundhati Roy’s
The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness. As literature is considered the representation of life, Roy’s novel
gives this marginal community such representation and prominence in the plot. She highlights
the social, political, and economic inhibitions and difficulties that the intersex guild faces and
comes across in the overall interaction of life. Building the premise on this
prolonged
discrimination, Roy’s text has represented the general trauma and pain of this community into
the various domains of Indian society at large.
Nazir 9
Conclusion
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a voice of the subaltern people, first half of the
novel is the representation of the intersex community of old Delhi. In India,
intersex
communities are facing various social, political, economic, and cultural prejudices and
biases.
The ancient Indian intersex people were living a respectable and content life.
Contemporary
India is facing cultural, social, political, and economic anarchy, and in the prevailing chaos, the
minorities such as LGBTs and others suffer. The intersex community has not been given
in
proper representation in social and political domains. The intersex community has been
given
limited space in mainstream literature. Yet, there are exceptions like Arundhati Roy’s
The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness. As literature is considered the representation of life, Roy’s novel
gives this marginal community such representation and prominence in the plot. She highlights

9
the social, political, and economic inhibitions and difficulties that the intersex guild faces and
comes across in the overall interaction of life. Building the premise on this
prolonged
discrimination, Roy’s text has represented the general trauma and pain of this community into
the various domains of Indian society at large.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is an advocacy of the transgender people, first half of
the novel is the representation of the intersex community of old Delhi. In
India, intersex communities are facing various social, political, economic, and cultural
prejudices and biases. The ancient Indian intersex people were living a respectable and
content life. Contemporary India is facing cultural, social, political, and economic
anarchy, and in the prevailing chaos, the minorities such as LGBTs and others suffer. The
intersex community has not been given improper representation in social and political
domains. The intersex community has been given limited space in mainstream
literature. Yet, there are exceptions like Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness. As literature is considered the representation of life, Roy’s novel gives this
marginal community such representation and prominence in the plot. She highlights the
social, political, and economic inhibitions and difficulties that the intersex guild faces and
comes across in the overall interaction of life. Building the premise on this
prolonged discrimination, Roy’s text has represented the general trauma and pain of this
community into the various domains of Indian society at large.

10