Simulacra, Simulation, and the Politics of Representation in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Abstract

This study examines how Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of simulacra, simulation, and hyperreality inform the representation of characters, events, and institutions in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The analysis highlights the pervasive role of media, advertising, religion, and government in constructing distorted versions of reality that shape individual and collective perceptions. Through characters such as Anjum, Saddam Hussain, Biplap Dasgupta, and Naga, the novel reveals how hyperreality influences identity, marginalizes minorities, and sustains dominant power structures. Events such as the 9/11 attacks, the Gujarat violence, and the Kashmir conflict are reinterpreted within the framework of hyperreality, where images and signs replace lived experience and meaning. Roy further critiques the manipulation of truth, the misrepresentation of Muslims, hijras, and lower castes, and the commodification of culture through advertisements. While exposing the human cost of a hyperreal world, the novel also emphasizes resilience, alternative narratives, and the possibility of resistance. This paper argues that The Ministry of Utmost Happiness serves as a powerful literary critique of postmodern society, where representation frequently supplants reality and human consciousness is reshaped by mediated constructs.