Minault, Gail

Texas ScholarWorks

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1980) - Not Even Pasthttps://notevenpast.org/midnights-children-1980/[7/7/2020 11:06:10 AM]"The past is never dead. It's not even past." William FaulknerNOT EVEN PAST     THE PUBLIC HISTORIANMore from The Public HistorianBOOKSMore BooksDIGITAL HISTORYMidnight’s Children by SalmanRushdie (1980)by Gail MinaultWe are in the delivery room in Bombay, at midnight on August 14/15, 1947, the moment India andPakistan are created as independent nations. Twochildren enter the world simultaneously, one Muslim,one Hindu, and their destinies will be determined bythe timing of their birth. Through their eyes, andespecially through the eyes of Saleem Sinai, thereader travels around the subcontinent, meeting theother children of partition and viewing every majornational event until Saleem Sinai quite literallydisintegrates.  Saleem is the reader’s guide throughthe world of independent India and Pakistan; itsproblems become his problems in fantastic andunpredictable ways. Through this journey, Saleemmust face his past and his future, and it is not alwaysclear how they will come together.Midnight’s Children, winner of the 1981 Man BookerPrize, stands out as the most compelling account ofthe surreal aspects of partition experienced by familiesthroughout the affected areas. While it may seemunusual to turn to a work of magic realism forguidance on a topic as complex as partition, Rushdie captures the tensions of these historical eventsbetter than most standard histories. There are no Viceroys or national fathers in Rushdie’s novel. Butthere are fathers and mothers, lovers, sons and daughters, friends and bitter enemies. As a young Muslimentering newly created Pakistan, Saleem loses his memory, loses his connection to his past, hisconnection to the history of Muslims in India; now relegated to a separate chapter, a separate country, aseparate history.The realities of partition, it seems, are best interpreted through Rushdie’s magical landscapes. Writing inEnglish, he nonetheless expands a body of Urdu and Hindi literature that, in the months and years afterthe traumatic migrations of 1947, tried to capture the sense of unease that the divide introduced. Thesestories and poems looked into the dark heart of partition, long before the high politics had concluded orbecome fodder for official histories. As in Saadat Hasan Manto’s famous Urdu short story of partition,Toba Tek Singh, where the actions of the sane appear insane, and the insane sane, Rushdie builds upon Like 0TweetMaking History: Houston’s “Spirit of theConfederacy”May 06, 2020America for Americans: A History ofXenophobia in the United States byErika Lee (2019)April 20, 2020Más de 72: Digital Archive ReviewBOOKS FILMS & MEDIA THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN BLOG TEXAS ABOUTSTUDENTSOUR/STORIES15 MINUTE HISTORYMidnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1980) - Not Even Pasthttps://notevenpast.org/midnights-children-1980/[7/7/2020 11:06:10 AM]More from Digital HistoryFILMS & MEDIAMore from Films & MediaTEXASMore from Texasa tradition of interpretation that goes beyond the histories of real actors and dives into partition’s fictions,its profound surreality.Further reading:Hosain, Attia. Sunlight on a Broken Column. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1992.Ravikant, and Tarun K. Saint, eds. Translating Partition: Stories by Attia Hosain, Bhisham Sahni, JoginderPaul, Kamleshwar, Sa’adat Hasan Manto, Surendra Prakas. New Delhi: Katha, 2001.Singh, Khushwant. Train to Pakistan. New Delhi: Roli Books, 2006.Zaman, Niaz, ed. The Escape and Other Stories of 1947. Dhaka: University Press, 2000.Posted June 10, 2011More Asia, Books, Fiction, Periods, Politics, Regions, Religion, TopicsMarch 16, 2020Ayka (Dir: Sergei Dvortsevoy, 2018)October 02, 2019A (Queer) Rebel Wife In TexasMarch 11, 2020Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1980) - Not Even Pasthttps://notevenpast.org/midnights-children-1980/[7/7/2020 11:06:10 AM]19th century 20th Century African American History american history Asia Asia & Middle East book review Brazil British Empire China Civil War Cold War Colonialism communism cultural history digital history Early Modern Europe Europe film gender history History of Science immigration India Islam Latin America Latin American History Mexico Not Even Past Public History race religion Russia slavery Texas Texas History Texas History Day Transnational Twentieth Century History United States US History USSR Womens History world history World War IINOT EVEN PAST is produced byThe Department of HistoryTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN We are supported by the College of Liberal ArtsAnd our READERSDONATECONTACTAll content © 2010-present NOT EVEN PAST and the authors,unless otherwise notedSign up to receive bi-weekly email updatesBOOKS FILMS & MEDIA THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN BLOG TEXAS

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (1980)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Texas ScholarWorks