| Summary: | Spatiality, as a discursive category, appears to be embedded within a seemingly politicized domain in contemporary times. Theorists like Foucault and Soja articulate the spatial possibilities of human existence where implications of power play a significant role in the spatial construction of individuals. Spatiality has now emerged as one of the most significant elements in understanding gender dynamics in the present context, as the intersection of space with gender complicates the living experiences of those who do not affiliate with the identity attributes within biological or physiological pointers that conform to the socio-cultural paradigms. In this context, the transgenders commonly known as hijras in India are one of the ancient transgender groups in the world who despite having a visible presence in society and history have been subjected to oppression and marginalization to the point of erasure and made invisible. Arundhati Roy, in her novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness provides the space for these transgender people, their struggles and experiences as spatial beings made manifest through the protagonist Anjum. She lives in the Foucauldian heterotopic space of the cemetery after leaving the safe space of the hijra Gharana Khwabgah. Roy in this novel explores the relationship between space and transgender as manifested with the incorporation of heterotopia and thirdspace in terms of Anjum’s various experiences.
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