The Main Problems Depicted In Midnight’s Children By Salman Rushdie

The novel was written about the time of independence and was published in 1981. This novel won the Booker Prize in 1981 and in 1993 this novel won the prize of Booker and in 2008 the novel was awarded the Best of Booker. Later on, in 1989 the Molana of that time put a Fatwa on him. This novel was a masterpiece by Salman Rushdie. This novel was about the story of independence and some incidents of some 30 years ago.

The main characters of the novel are given below.

• Saleen Sinai (narrator of the story)
• Ahmad Sinai
• Mumtaz(Amina Sinai)
• Adam Aziz
• Naseem Ghani(Daughter of land’s owner)
• Major Zulfiqar
• Emarld
• Alia
• Hanif
• Mustafa
• William Methwold
• Wee Wilee Winke
• Vanita
• Padma(serve Saleem)
• Mary Periera
• Parvati The Witch
• Shiva
• Mia Abdullah
• Nadir Khan
• Zafar
• Picture Singh
• Joseph D’Costa
• Adam Sinai
• Commander Sabarmati
• Lila Sabarmati(wife of Sabarmati)
• Homi Catrock(a film Magnate, resident of Methwold state)
• Doctor Narlikar( Ahmad business partner)
• Alie Periera(Mary’s sister)
• Farooq, Shaheed, Ayooba(Three soldiers with Saleem in Pak Army)
• Ghani (Naseem’s father)
• Tai( an old boatman from Kashmir)
• Ramram Seth (a prophet who predicts Saleem’s future)

Saleem is the narrator of the story who told his story to Padma who serve him and his future wife. Adam Aziz is the grandfather of Saleem who is a doctor and studied from Germany and started the treatment of Naseem Ghani (Daughter of Land’s owner Ghani) in 1915 and in 1919 he married Naseem. At that, they live in Kashmir and after that, they settle in Agra. They have three daughters named Alia, Mumtaz, Emerald and two sons named Hanif and Mustafa. Mia Abdullah is a politician in India and Adam Aziz is a follower of Mia and Nadir khan is the assistant of Abdullah and after his murder, he hides in Adam Aziz’s house. Mumtaz married Nadir but he left the house and Mumtaz after 2 years. After that Mumtaz married Ahmad and change her name to Amina Sinai. Emerald married Major Zulfiqar and Zafar was the name of their son. Shiva is the son of William and Vanita but Shiva is the biological son of Ahmad And Amina. Saleem is the biological son of William and Vanita.

And Saleem told his story to Padma that he was born on 15th August 1947. At that time 1001 children were born who all have some magical power. But after ten years of his birth, only 581 children were left behind. Saleem has the power of Telepathy. Shiva has magical power in his knees and Parvati has the magical power of magic or Jadu.

Saleem’s mother gives punishment him one day to be the silent whole day and on that day Saleem came to know about his telepathy power that he can connect all the midnight’s children. Ahmad invests his money in the wrong project due to which he suffered a lot and settled in Mumbai where they live in the house of William Methwold. But there he started to drink alcohol due to which his family leave him and settle in Pakistan where Saleem’s sister becomes a famous singer in Pakistan and got fame in Pakistan. After that Ahmad become a heart patient and his family came back to India but there in 1965 his family died in an attack by the Indian Army but Saleem and his sister were left only. But in this attack, Saleem lost his memory and started loving his own sister so his sister sent him to Pak Army. His telepathy power was also lost but now he got magical power in his nose and was sent to Bangladesh. Mary Periera is the nurse who exchanges the tag of babies but after that, she regrets her action and became the caretaker of Saleem. Saleem married Padma and after the death of Padma Saleem married Parvati The Witch.

Indra Gandhi gathered all midnight’s children and use their power to win the election but she loses the election and then she wanted to stop Magical Children’s birth. Parvati is the mother of Shiva’s son but Shiva leaves him. That’s why Saleem married Parvati The Witch. After they went to a hotel to ate a meal where he came to knew that the owner of this hotel is Mary Periera where he celebrated his 31st birthday.

This Novel is the Master Piece of Salman Rushdie that’s why this novel won so many prizes. This novel is very relative to our present era. In our present era, people also believe in the magical power of Charm. If they are ill or some other matter to themselves they immediately relate it to their enemies that all this is due to their Charm but this is totally miss understanding. All this is written in their fate by Allah Almighty and they all have to face this. This story is also about the Supernatural world and magical power. This point is also related to our story that if someone live a life according to the teaching of Islam and orders of ALLAH then ALLAH ALMIGHTY gives him such supernatural powers that the man then becomes a superhero and he is beyond this world because he has a friendship with ALLAH ALMIGHTY. Such peoples are also present in the modern era who have magical powers and they use their powers for the betterment of society. Because they deserve to hold magical powers. In the novel, Salman Rushdie also told the bitter reality of society which is also present nowadays. That people just take advantage of others and when they don’t have any interest or advantage with them they leave him and in search of some other people as Shiva and Nadir Khan left their wives just for their own interest.

And in the story writer also discuss the wars of 1965 and 1971. Today the whole world also have fear of war and now many countries have atomic bombs in which Pakistan and India are also included. So if now war start then the whole world will have to be ready to face the consequences of war. We should avoid war for the sake of humanity. Because in previous World Wars and the wars between India and Pakistan killed a lot of people and that time both countries don’t use atomic bombs but now both countries have atomic bombs. In the story when Saleem married Parvati The Witch just only because he knew that she is the mother of the son of Shiva so just for the sake of that child Saleem married Parvati The Witch.

This is also Islam teachings that when you want to marry first search for Widow than for an Orphan and if you aren’t able to find them then marry with some other one. That’s why Islam is the complete code of life.