A Pragmatic Portrayal of Indian Culture, Politics, History and Magical Realism in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children – A Critical Study

Abstract

Salman Rushdie’s most renowned second novel Midnight Children (1981) succeeds the prominent Booker McConnnell Prize for fiction in 1981. He has shown his accessory towards Indianans and high level of theoretical uniformity through his novels. Rushdie’s novel always carries a strong attachment towards Indian social, cultural, political supernatural phenomena. Midnight Children is an autobiographical; post colonial and political novel of Salman Rushdie which in relation to India, the nation of his childhood. The novel explores Indian culture, politics, history, fantasy, imagination, stream-consciousness, myths, magical realism and author’s dream about Bombay city.  The novel also investigates the hallucinating delight of the citizens which conveys the proper termination of the British rule and the birth of Indian independent nation at accurate hour of the midnight in 1947. Through the character of Saleem Sinai, major events of pre-independence era have been presented by Rushdie. Saleem is constantly thinking of reason because of his supernatural powers. Saleem is a representation of newly independent India, full of pledge and high hope. This research paper aims to explore the multifaceted themes of the novel Midnight Children written by Salman Rushdie.