Transgender Marginalization and Exclusion in Arundathi Roy’s The Ministry of the Utmost Happiness

Abstract

This article aims to examine how Anjum, the protagonist of Arundathi Roy's 2017 book The Ministry of the Utmost Happiness, reflects transgender discrimination and identity crises. The degree to which a person possesses feminine or masculine characteristics that fit the socially prescribed description of a male or female is known as their gender identity. One psychological feature of an individual that reflects their sexual inclinations is their gender identity. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a work of fiction that centers on Anjum, a transwoman who is trying to establish herself in Delhi. It has the powerful voice of the LGBT community in contemporary India. With varying historical backgrounds, this book reflects a number of prevalent forms of discrimination in Indian society, including caste-based discrimination against Dalits, discrimination against Muslim minorities based on religious prejudice, gender identity-based discrimination against transgender people, discrimination against women based on male dominance, and national identity crisis based on multiethnic alienation that causes identity crisis in the dislocated and disoriented people. Due to their inability to fit in with the prejudiced society, victims of discrimination have personality disorders and feelings of alienation, which are indicative of identity crises. It is explained how the study of personality using queer theory is applied to Anjum's character in Pursuit of the True Self. The hijra character is constructed and used in fictional literature as a focal point for broader anti-sociality as well as a symbol of deviance. While trying to live in a society that is becoming more and more marginalized, Hijras continue to struggle for their rights.