The Ministry of Utmost Happiness Character Analysis

Anjum / Aftab

The protagonist of the novel, Anjum is a fiery Hijra whose independence leads her to build a life for herself completely on the margins of society. Born intersex and gendered a boy by her mother… read analysis of Anjum / Aftab

Tilo

A mysterious, dark-skinned, South Indian woman who seemingly has no past, no caste, and no family, Tilo is a highly independent and secretive character. As a young woman, she is an architecture student and performs… read analysis of Tilo

Biplab Dasgupta

The first-person narrator of a large portion of the novel, Biplab Dasgupta is a Brahmin high-ranking bureaucrat in the Indian government with an alcohol addiction. Biplab seems to have a neutral stance towards many aspects… read analysis of Biplab Dasgupta

Naga

A radical left student grown into a successful mainstream journalist, Naga is a lifelong friend of Biplab, and a temporary husband to Tilo. As a young person, Naga has radical politics that turn… read analysis of Naga

Musa

Tilo’s lover and a member of the Kashmiri resistance, Musa participates in a play with Tilo, Biplab, and Naga as a young man while he is in architecture school. There, the other boys… read analysis of Musa

Saddam Hussain

A member of the Dalit caste and former security guard, Saddam Hussain is Anjum’s first permanent guest at Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services. Soon after Saddam moves in, the two become business partners—it… read analysis of Saddam Hussain

Major Amrik Singh

A major of the Indian Army known for torturing and murdering many members of the resistance, Major Amrik Singh is an extraordinarily violent man. Even the Indian army, which commits daily atrocities in Kashmir, is… read analysis of Major Amrik Singh

Ashfaq Mir

A Kashmiri Deputy Commandant in the Indian Army, Ashfaq Mir has an alarmingly false air of good will about his work. When Tilo is taken into custody in Kashmir, it is Ashfaq who is tasked… read analysis of Ashfaq Mir

Zainab

Anjum’s informally adopted daughter, Zainab was abandoned on the steps of a mosque as a baby and taken in by the Khwabgah. Anjum adores raising a child, although at first, she is not… read analysis of Zainab

Ustad Kulsoom Bi

The Head Hijra of the Khwabgah, Ustad Kulsoom Bi is a powerful member of the transgender community in Delhi. She is in charge of managing the business (many of the Hijras at the Khwabgah… read analysis of Ustad Kulsoom Bi

Imam Ziauddin

The first friend Anjum makes when she moves to the graveyard, the old Imam Ziauddin is blind and often bonds with Anjum when she reads newspaper articles to him. While he is accepting of Anjum… read analysis of Imam Ziauddin

Miss Jebeen

Musa’s daughter, who dies at the age of three in a massacre in Srinagar, Kashmir. Her mother, Arifa, has gone outside to watch the funeral procession of Ustad Hameed Khan, when an… read analysis of Miss Jebeen

Miss Jebeen the Second / Miss Udaya Jebeen

Also known as Miss Udaya Jebeen, Miss Jebeen the Second is the baby Revathy gives up at the Jantar Mantar protest, whom Tilo kidnaps and then raises at Jannat Guest House with Anjum. Surrounded… read analysis of Miss Jebeen the Second / Miss Udaya Jebeen

Gulrez

A friend of Musa’s who has special needs. Sweet and attentive, Gulrez comes to meet Tilo at the bus station when she first arrives in Kashmir, and cooks meals for her and Musa during… read analysis of Gulrez

Revathy

Miss Jebeen the Second’s birth mother who sends a letter to Jannat Guest House via Dr. Azad Bhartiya explaining who she is. A low-caste woman from a rural area in India, as a young… read analysis of Revathy

D. D. Gupta

One of Anjum’s most loyal and oldest clients, who works in construction in Iraq. D. D. Gupta is one of the first people to visit Anjum after she moves to the graveyard, and sends… read analysis of D. D. Gupta

Maryam

Tilo’s mother, a South Indian Syrian Christian born into an upper-caste family. Maryam becomes pregnant with Tilo as a teenager and, because her parents forbid her from keeping the baby, gives Tilo up for… read analysis of Maryam

Aijaz

A young Kashmiri militant whom Naga interviews when he goes to rescue Tilo from the interrogation center. Ashfaq Mir, a commandant in the Indian Army, has told Naga that Aijaz has been “neutralized” and… read analysis of Aijaz

Dr. Azad Bhartiya

A radical protestor on his 12th year of a hunger strike, Dr. Azad Bhartiya is passionate about a number of leftist causes, from the end of corruption to the end of US imperialism to the… read analysis of Dr. Azad Bhartiya

Jahanara

Anjum’s mother. When her baby is born, Jahanara believes it is a boy and names it Aftab. Although she discovers the second day after Aftab’s birth that he has female as well as male… read analysis of Jahanara

Mulaqat Ali

Anjum’s father. A direct descendent of a Moghul emperor, Mulaqat Ali is fond of retelling myths of the Moghul dynasty and reciting Urdu poetry. When his wife, Jahanara, reveals to him that their… read analysis of Mulaqat Ali

Ustad Hameed Khan

The singing teacher who teaches Aftab to sing beautifully, but in such a tone that he is teased by his peers for sounding like a girl. Later, Ustad Hameed Khan gives singing lessons to Zainab… read analysis of Ustad Hameed Khan

Zakir Mian

An older Muslim man and a friend of Mulaqat Ali, with whom Anjum travels to Gujarat to go to an important Muslim shrine to seek spiritual assistance for Zainab’s ill health. On their… read analysis of Zakir Mian

Mansoor

Zakir Mian’s son. Once the region of Gujarat has calmed down after the massacre, he goes to see if he can find out what happened to Anjum and his father. He never finds his… read analysis of Mansoor

Dr. Bhagat

A doctor whom Ustad Kulsoom Bi and many other Hijras at the Khwabgah trust to manage their mental health treatment and gender-transition hormone treatments. While most of them trust that Dr. Bhagat is a skilled… read analysis of Dr. Bhagat

ACP Pinky

The only female character in the army, ACP Pinky is known for her violent interrogation techniques, which seem at odds with her beauty. Rumored to be Major Amrik Singh’s lover, it is Pinky who… read analysis of ACP Pinky

Mr. Aggarwal

A bureaucrat and aspiring politician, Mr. Aggarwal is present at the protests at Jantar Mantar trying to build a name for himself. His desire to establish a solid political reputation is what leads him to… read analysis of Mr. Aggarwal

The Princess

Naga’s girlfriend, for a time. She comes from a minor royalty family and, unlike Naga’s ex-wife, Tilo, has light skin and stereotypically feminine habits, like sewing and interior decorating. When the Princess suggests… read analysis of The Princess

Showkat

Musa’s father, who, unlike his son, does not seem to oppose the Indian army’s occupation of Kashmir. Indeed, Showkat works selling building supplies to the military, and is a friend of Major Amrik Singh… read analysis of Showkat

Saeeda

A “more modern” Hijra who lives with Anjum at the Khwabgah, Saeeda is young Zainab’s second favorite. Anjum—jealous of her both for Zainab’s affection and because Saeeda, with her modern terminology, has stolen… read analysis of Saeeda

Minor Characters

Dr. Ghulam Nabi

The doctor who calls himself a “sexologist,” whom Jahanara and Mulaqat trust to perform a surgery on their son, Aftab, that gets rid of his female genitalia.

Dr. Mukhtar

The doctor that performs Anjum’s second gender transition surgery, this time male-to-female rather than female-to-male.

Arifa

Musa’s wife and Miss Jebeen’s mother. She dies by the same bullet as her child.

David Quartermaine

The British director of the play that Naga, Tilo, and Biplab star in as teenagers when they first meet.

Ishrat

A young Hijra who is visiting Anjum at Jannat Guest House when Anjum decides to go to the Jantar Mantar protest. When Anjum gets in a fight with Mr. Aggarwal over the abandoned baby on the pavement, Ishrat intervenes, fighting Mr. Aggarwal through dance and song.

Anwar Bhai

The owner of a local brothel, Anwar Bhai brings Anjum her first funeral client at Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services, as he can find no other place to bury Rubina, one of the sex workers he was responsible for who has died.

Rubina

A deceased sex worker, and the first body Anjum buries at Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services.

Saqib

Anjum’s younger brother, who, for legal purposes, is registered as Zainab’s father.

Loveleen Singh

Major Amrik Singh’s wife, Loveleen Singh is born into an impoverished Sikh family more than happy to marry her off to a successful army man. Loveleen experiences extensive domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. Once granted asylum in California, Major Amrik Singh murders Loveleen and their three children.

Ralph Bauer

A California LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), who writes documentation supporting Major Amrik Singh and Loveleen Singh in their petition for asylum in the United States.

Gujarat ka Lalla

Literally meaning “beloved of Gujarat,” Gujarat ka Lalla refers to a Hindu fundamentalist politician who rises to fame and is eventually elected Prime Minister in India. Gujarat ka Lalla admires figures such as Hitler and openly advocates for violence against Muslims.

Khadija

A friend of Musa’s who takes messages to Tilo from his part, Khadija herself becomes a good friend of Tilo’s as well.

Nimmo

A Hijra, and friend of Anjum, who believes that Hijiras are totally incapable of happiness.