PARA-COLONIALISM IN ARUNDHATI ROY'S THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS: A POST-COLONIAL ANALYSIS.

Abstract

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017) by Arundhati Roy is used in this research paper as a sample of applying para-colonialism as a theoretical term, which considers the paranoia of consequences of colonial ideologies in the society considered decolonized. Para-colonialism is defined as the life extension of the colonial models of power within the economic, political, and cultural forms well after official withdrawal of the colonial order. The work manifests through how the novel written by Roy is a critique of the colonial histories by pointing out how caste-based, gendered, class, and religious oppression is systemic. Using the representation of various characters the writer portrays how these people are themselves facing institutionalized racism and social outsiders violating institutional control and suppression of the colonial period. Roy uses various characters, Anjum, a hijra; Saddam Hussain, a Dalit and Tilottama, all politically subjugated woman characters among others. The usage of fragmented narrative, symbolism, and the storytelling based on the intersection of many factors contribute to the novel revealing how colonial hierarchies were internalized and continued to exist in modern Indian society. The study makes an addition to the literature on postcolonial literature in the field of postcolonialSilent Surrender research as it positions the work of Roy in a greater context of para-colonialism and, consequently, it is an interpretation of the combination of continuities of identity, opposition, and injustice of the past in contemporary India.