Multiculturalism and Cultural Clashes in Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

Abstract

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie remains a central text in postcolonial literature. Rushdie’s ambitious novel rejects the British colonial visions of India and constructs a new world and a new depiction of Indian citizens and history in an attempt to provide greater truth to Indian images and history. This study has been written with an aim to interpret multicultural clashes in the novel. The novel reflects the multiculturalism and cultural clashes in postcolonial India through its protagonist Saleem Sinai. The novel describes the origins of Bombay and illustrates the city’s evolutions and changes, from indigenous people settling the city to colonial powers asserting their control over it. The study shows how the novelist artistically discusses the multicultural clashes in postcolonial India and its reflection in the novel. The study explores Indian historical events through Saleem’s familial and his own personal history.