'The Ministry of Utmost Silence: What the Novel Doesn't Say'

This blog is a part of assignment which deals with the topic ' The Ministry of Utmost Silence: What the Novel Does'nt Say' from the paper no. 207 Contemporary Literatures in English. 

Personal Details:-

• Name: Unnati Baroliya

• Batch: M.A. Sem.4 (2022-2024) 

• Enrollment N/o.: 5108230002

• Roll N/o.: 26

• E-mail Address: unnatibaroliya@gmail.com 

Assignment Details:-

• Topic:- The Ministry of Utmost Silence: What the Novel Doesn't Say.

• Paper: 207

• Subject code & Paper N/o.:22414

• Paper Name:- Contemporary Literatures in English 

• Submitted to: Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English M.K.B.U. 

• Date of submission: 17th, April 2024

Abstract

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness employs silence as a central narrative and thematic strategy to explore trauma, marginalization, and resistance. Through characters like Saddam Hussain, Tilottama, and Anjum, Roy illustrates how silence can function as a response to personal and collective trauma, a political commentary on state oppression, and a form of queer and feminine resistance. Drawing on trauma theory, especially Cathy Caruth’s ideas of the “unclaimed experience,” as well as feminist and postcolonial frameworks, this paper analyzes the multiple dimensions of silence in the novel. Roy’s structural choices—fragmentation, non-linearity, and narrative gaps—further reinforce silence as both an aesthetic and political act. Ultimately, silence in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is not a void but a space of meaning, resistance, and reimagination of identity and community.

Keywords

Silence, Trauma Theory, Cathy Caruth, Queer Theory, Feminism, Postcolonialism, Resistance, Indian Democracy, Kashmir, Gujarat Riots, Structural Narrative, Arundhati Roy

Introduction

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a layered, polyphonic novel that weaves together personal histories and political events, offering a poignant critique of contemporary Indian society. Among the many literary devices Roy uses, silence emerges as one of the most powerful. Far from being a mere absence of speech, silence in the novel is a deeply expressive and multifaceted response to trauma, repression, and injustice. It functions at multiple levels—personal, political, structural, and symbolic—allowing characters to navigate the complexities of memory, identity, and resistance. Drawing on trauma theory, particularly Cathy Caruth’s notion of trauma as an experience that defies full articulation, this paper explores how silence reflects the unspeakable horrors lived by characters like Saddam Hussain and Tilottama. It also investigates how Roy uses silence to critique state violence, especially around the Gujarat riots and the Kashmir conflict, as well as to represent marginalized voices, especially those of queer and feminine identities. Furthermore, the paper examines how the novel’s fragmented narrative structure itself generates forms of silence, asking readers to engage with what is left unsaid. In Roy’s literary world, silence is not weakness—it is agency, memory, and subversion.

Key Points to Discuss:

1. Silence as a Response to Trauma

In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy uses silence as a powerful narrative device to portray the psychological depth of trauma experienced by characters like Saddam Hussain and Tilottama. Both characters carry emotional wounds that are not always articulated through speech; instead, their silences become expressive of the pain they endure. Drawing on trauma theory, particularly the work of Cathy Caruth, silence emerges not as an absence, but as a symptom of trauma’s overwhelming nature—what Caruth calls the “unclaimed experience,” where the traumatic event is so intense that it escapes full representation in language. In this light, the characters’ silence is not simply a refusal to speak but an indication that the trauma they carry is too profound to be put into words. Saddam Hussain, shaped by the brutal loss of his father, and Tilottama, haunted by her fractured relationships and a sense of dislocation, both embody this unspeakability. Their silence becomes a language of its own, echoing the emotional and historical violence that resists articulation. Roy thus uses silence not only as a personal coping mechanism for her characters but also as a political and psychological commentary on the limits of language in the face of immense suffering.

2. Political Silence and State Oppression

1. The Gujarat Riots and the Politics of Silence

Arundhati Roy alludes to the 2002 Gujarat riots in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, particularly through the character of Anjum, a Hijra Muslim who becomes a victim of the violence. However, she does not depict the events with graphic detail or direct narration. This absence is a powerful narrative strategy. By choosing to imply rather than describe the brutality, Roy mirrors the silence surrounding the riots in mainstream political and media discourse. In doing so, she exposes how state-sponsored violence is often omitted from official narratives and how such silences are used to erase the suffering of marginalized communities. The lack of explicit detail reflects not only the trauma of the victims but also the complicity of the state in suppressing truth and memory. Roy’s silence here is not accidental; it is a form of protest against the institutionalized forgetting of history.

2. The Kashmir Conflict and the Silencing of Dissent

The Kashmir conflict is a central thread in Roy’s novel, yet she addresses it through fragmented stories, indirect allusions, and symbolic representations rather than overt political commentary. Through the character of Musa, a Kashmiri freedom fighter, and Tilo, who documents state atrocities, Roy presents the devastating impact of military occupation. The novel describes the militarization of the valley, the constant surveillance, and the emotional toll on the Kashmiri people. However, many of the most horrific scenes are described with restraint, hinting at the trauma without fully articulating it. This narrative silence reflects the real-world censorship that surrounds the Kashmir issue in Indian media and politics. The deliberate gaps in the narrative underscore how voices from conflict zones are systematically silenced, and how language often fails to capture the full horror of state violence. Roy's approach aligns with Foucault’s idea that silence itself becomes a discourse — one that reveals the workings of power by what it chooses not to say.

3. Silence as a Political Commentary on Indian Democracy

Roy’s strategic use of silence also functions as a broader critique of the state of Indian democracy. While the novel includes scenes of protest, suffering, and resistance, it also draws attention to how certain narratives are ignored or erased by dominant political and media institutions. The character Tilo, for instance, writes a mock textbook filled with stories of military brutality, but the questions she poses at the end of each story are unanswerable, exposing the absurdity of trying to justify systemic violence. Similarly, the Janter Manter protests include voices from Bhopal gas survivors and Kashmiri mothers, but the media focuses instead on politically convenient narratives. This selective coverage reflects how the media acts as a tool of the state to suppress inconvenient truths. Roy uses silence to expose this manipulation, showing how democracy is often used as a mask for authoritarian control. In this way, silence in the novel becomes a subversive force, highlighting the gaps in official discourse and giving space to marginalized perspectives that would otherwise be excluded.( # Laghari, Raheela & Khan, Muhammad & Shaheen, Aamer) 

3. Feminine and Queer Silences

In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy powerfully constructs silence as a tool through which queer and feminine identities express resistance, complexity, and agency. The character of Anjum, a hijra born with both male and female biological traits, embodies a silence shaped by societal taboo and rejection. The dominant cultural discourse often excludes hijras, reducing them to marginal, abject figures. However, Roy resists this depiction by allowing Anjum to reclaim her identity through subtle, personal acts of self-expression. According to the analysis, Anjum's journey reflects Hélène Cixous's concept of "inherent bisexuality," where both masculine and feminine exist within the self, beyond binary thinking. Anjum's silence, her retreat from mainstream society, her internal conflict with her voice, and her later maternal role becomes a means of crafting identity on her own terms. Her silence is not submission but a space of transformation where she deconstructs the limitations of patriarchal language and reconstructs her gender identity with grace and quiet defiance​.

Likewise, the character of Tilottama (Tilo) represents a different but related kind of silence, one that resists being fully known, categorized, or explained. Though central to the narrative, Tilo remains partially unreadable, even to those closest to her. This unreadability is not a flaw but a form of resistance to traditional, male-defined modes of storytelling. Her silence disrupts gendered expectations of what a female protagonist should be — expressive, emotional, relational. Tilo’s defiance is quiet but powerful; she challenges social norms by choosing not to marry, not to conform to domestic roles, and eventually by adopting a child on her own terms. These acts, as analyzed through Cixous’s écriture féminine, reflect a feminine mode of writing and being that is fluid, nonlinear, and not centered on phallic authority. Tilo’s silences, refusals, and emotional ambiguity are creative spaces through which she rewrites her own narrative as a woman and a mother — not by biological determinism but by choice and agency​.

Together, Anjum and Tilo illustrate how silence operates as a radical literary and political strategy. Their stories challenge the idea that visibility and vocality are the only means of empowerment. Instead, through silence, Roy allows them to resist imposed identities, explore complex interiorities, and reclaim authorship over their bodies and narratives. Silence, in this context, is not a void but a presence that pushes back against phallogocentric norms, giving space for queer and feminine subjectivities to unfold on their own terms. (# Anuar, Nur & Pourya Asl, Moussa) 

4. Structural Silences in the Narrative

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is notable not just for what it says, but for how it is structured to withhold, fragment, and disorient. These structural choices generate a form of silence that is deeply embedded in the architecture of the narrative itself. Roy uses narrative breaks, abrupt shifts in voice, and sudden scene changes to disrupt a conventional reading experience, creating moments of deliberate pause and reflection. The novel does not follow a linear plot but instead mimics the shape of a chaotic city, with “unauthorized colonies” and porous boundaries, as Roy herself described. The narrative begins with Anjum in a graveyard, only to suddenly shift to an entirely different set of characters without warning, such as when the story moves from Anjum to Tilo and her circle of friends. These abrupt transitions create narrative silences, forcing the reader to sit with the disjunction, to contemplate the connections between seemingly unrelated parts.

Such structural silence is further emphasized through the novel’s shifting narrative voices. The first half is narrated by an omniscient third-person voice focusing on Anjum, while the second half begins with the subjective and unreliable first-person voice of Biplab Das, known as “The Landlord.” This shift is jarring, and intentionally so. It reminds the reader that every narrative is partial and perspectival — and that silence or ambiguity might reveal more than speech. Roy also incorporates forms like pamphlets, letters, poems, photographs, and official documents, which interrupt the main narrative flow and add layers of non-linear storytelling. These techniques leave gaps in the story that the reader must bridge, inviting active participation and critical engagement. The use of foreshadowing, such as Tilo’s poem at the end or the fragmented chapter “Some Questions for Later,” functions like echoing silences that reverberate throughout the text. The reader is repeatedly made to pause, feel unsettled, and reflect — not just on the narrative content, but on the emotional and political weight of what is left unsaid.

Ultimately, Roy’s structural choices create a novel that is both densely layered and fragmented — a reflection of the fractured realities it seeks to portray. The narrative silences within the text mirror the social and political silences in the world outside the text, especially those affecting the marginalized, the forgotten, and the excluded. These absences are not flaws but deliberate strategies — ones that challenge readers to confront the uncomfortable truths buried within both history and literature.(# Joy Ann Theres)

5. Resistance Through Silence

In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy portrays silence as a conscious and powerful form of resistance, especially for marginalized characters whose identities and voices are routinely suppressed by dominant structures of gender, caste, religion, and state authority. One of the most striking examples of this is Anjum, a Hijra (transgender woman), whose life is shaped by continuous rejection from her family, religious community, and the larger heteronormative society. Born with both male and female sexual organs, Anjum faces ridicule, discrimination, and eventually near-death violence during the Gujarat riots. Instead of retaliating with anger or seeking revenge, Anjum chooses to retreat to a graveyard, a symbolic space of stillness, silence, and death — and transforms it into a sanctuary of life and inclusion. This act of withdrawal is not escapism; it is a deeply spiritual and political statement, where silence replaces speech as a form of protest, dignity, and self-determination​.

Anjum's silent resistance is not just personal, but communal. By turning the graveyard into the Jannat Guest House, she builds a parallel world that welcomes others like her — the abandoned, the oppressed, the voiceless. This act of creating a utopian space in a necropolis challenges the conventional power structures of state, religion, and family. Her silence becomes a radical refusal to participate in a world that devalues her existence, and her sanctuary becomes a living critique of a society that silences difference through violence and neglect. In doing so, Anjum embodies Gramsci’s concept of counter-hegemony, offering an alternative moral and social order grounded in empathy, coexistence, and quiet resilience.

The article further illustrates how silence emerges as a form of resistance among other characters as well, such as Revathy, who endures exploitation as a working-class woman and seeks refuge from systemic injustices. Revathy's resistance is marked not by rebellion in the traditional sense, but by retreat and reflection, which allows her to care for others and rebuild herself emotionally and spiritually. Her quiet rebellion is rooted in her refusal to be broken by the violence she endures. Similarly, Tilotama, though she speaks little in the novel, resists the gaze and control of male narrators. Her emotional distance, her guarded interiority, and her acts of empathy with the victims of political violence in Kashmir all reflect a deliberate silence that resists domination and interpretation. In a world that demands women and marginalized people to explain, confess, or justify their pain, Tilo's silence becomes an assertion of autonomy and resistance.

Roy’s use of silence is thus deeply political. It confronts the reader with the reality that not all resistance is loud or visible. In fact, in contexts of authoritarianism, patriarchy, and communal violence, silence may be the only safe or dignified choice. The novel does not present silence as weakness, but rather as a space where new forms of identity, solidarity, and power can be imagined. Silence in Roy’s narrative is not an absence of voice, but a rejection of imposed narratives, a strategy to protect oneself and others, and a way to challenge dominant structures without replicating their violence. By centering silent resistance, Roy complicates the conventional idea of what it means to fight back — showing that sometimes, to refuse to speak is the most eloquent act of defiance.

Conclusion

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness transforms silence into a powerful literary and political force. Through her characters’ silences, Roy captures the depth of trauma that defies language, critiques the erasures within state and media discourses, and provides space for marginalized identities to reclaim agency. Whether it is Saddam Hussain’s quiet grief, Tilottama’s emotional unreadability, or Anjum’s retreat to the graveyard, each act of silence resists dominant narratives and reimagines possibilities of being and belonging. Roy also integrates structural silences into the fabric of the novel through narrative fragmentation and non-linear storytelling, compelling readers to reflect on what remains unsaid. In doing so, she aligns with theoretical perspectives from trauma studies, feminist and queer theory, and postcolonial critique. Ultimately, silence in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is not an absence, but a presence—one that challenges, disrupts, and redefines the boundaries of voice, identity, and resistance.

References:-

Anuar, Nur & Pourya Asl, Moussa. “Gender and Sexual Identity in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: A Cixousian Analysis of Hijra’s Resistance and Remaking of the Self.” 2021/12/03. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357125026_Gender_and_Sexual_Identity_in_Arundhati_Roy%27s_The_Ministry_of_Utmost_Happiness_A_Cixousian_Analysis_of_Hijra%27s_Resistance_and_Remaking_of_the_Self.

Joy Ann Theres. “Seaming a Shattered Story: Roy’s Narrative Patterns in the Ministry of Utmost Happiness.” vol. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science Volume 6 ~ Issue 12 (2018)pp.:20-23 ISSN(Online):2321-9467. https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol6-issue12/p3/E0612032023.pdf.

Laghari, Raheela & Khan, Muhammad & Shaheen, Aamer. “The Organization of Power in Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: A Foucauldian Reading.” 2021/06/30. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353337762_The_Organization_of_Power_in_Roy%27s_The_Ministry_of_Utmost_Happiness_A_Foucauldian_Reading.

Mishra, Binod. “Arundhati Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: Exploring Human Relationships through Changing Socio-Cultural Lens.” 2020/01/10. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338502746_Arundhati_Roy's_The_Ministry_of_Utmost_Happiness_Exploring_Human_Relationships_through_Changing_Socio-Cultural_Lens/citation/download.

Sharma Khum Prasad. “The Defiant Faces: Intersectionality in Arundhati Roy's Resistance Narratives.” vol. Volume 16, number 4, 2024. https://rupkatha.com/V16/n4/v16n414.pdf.