https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i3.120
Subaltern Strategic Essentialism in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
ELROY ANTHONY SAVIO REBELLO
Research Scholar
Amolakchand Mahavidyalaya, Yavatmal
Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University
elroyrebello@gmail.com
DR. GANESH RAMDAS KHANDERAO
Research Supervisor & Professor
Amolakchand Mahavidyalaya, Yavatmal
Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University
grkhanderao1976@gmail.com
Abstract: India is a cacophony of subaltern voices but seldom heard, often being the first casualties the moment the country is hit by a crisis. These are groups whose lives are made precarious by the prejudices of the dominant class. Additionally, there are oppositions within the subaltern where one group is opposed to another. The result: they are used as pawns by those in power for political gains. Can there be a solution to this vicious cycle of discrimination and oppression? Can these varied subaltern groups come together for the amelioration of all? This paper aims to analyse Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness in the context of strategic essentialism of the subaltern as propounded by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in the essay Subaltern Studies: Deconstructing Historiography and an interview Practical Politics of the Open End. The paper employs close reading and application of postcolonial theory to show how diverse subaltern groups ought to come together to achieve their common good. People’s movement initiatives and activism can largely benefit by paying heed to this message constructed by Gayatri and infused with a soul by Arundhati.
Keywords: Subaltern, Strategic Essentialism, Dalit, Kashmir, Transgender, Adivasi
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