DIP: 18.02.101/20251003 
DOI: 10.25215/2455/1003101 
Abstract
This research article examines the representation of women’s identity and resistance in contemporary Indian English fiction through a feminist reading of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997) and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017). The article explores how female and gender-marginalised characters negotiate patriarchy, caste, class, sexuality, violence, and social exclusion. Using qualitative textual analysis and a thematic-coding matrix, the paper argues that Roy’s fiction presents identity not as a fixed essence but as a contested field shaped by family, community, state power, memory, and history. Characters such as Ammu, Rahel, Mammachi, Baby Kochamma, Anjum, and Tilo embody different forms of vulnerability and resistance. Their resistance appears through desire, silence, mobility, alternative community formation, refusal of domestic roles, and survival after violence. The study concludes that contemporary Indian English fiction expands feminist discourse by linking gender with caste, religion, class, sexuality, and political trauma.
The author(s) appreciates all those who participated in the study and helped to facilitate the research process. 
The author(s) declared no conflict of interest. 
ISSN 2455-670X