
Anjum is born intersex and lives as a Muslim hijra (South Asia) who lives in the Khwabgah for many years before leaving and eventually founding the Jannat Guest House.The narrative spans across decades and locations, but primarily takes place in Delhi and Kashmir.

Roy's characters run the gamut of Indian society and include an intersex woman ( hijra), a rebellious architect, and her landlord who is a supervisor in the intelligence service. The novel weaves together the stories of people navigating some of the darkest and most violent episodes of modern Indian history, from land reform that dispossessed poor farmers to the Bhopal disaster, 2002 Godhra train burning and Kashmir insurgency.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is the second novel by Indian writer Arundhati Roy, published in 2017, twenty years after her debut, The God of Small Things.
