past was sought to be wiped out and eliminated, Rushdie believes that the rewriting of history through Saleem is a form of empowerment against forces that seek to silence voices.  For Rushdie and Saleem, the rewriting history is a way to inject personal voice and narrative experience into the domain of history and, thus, what it means to be human:  

That he should instantly perpetrate a howler about the myth... [was] I thought, a way of deflating that narratorial pomposity; but it was also - along with Saleem's other blunder about the date of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination - a way of telling the reader to maintain a healthy distrust. History is always ambiguous. Facts are hard to establish, and capable of being given many meanings. Reality is built on our prejudices, misconceptions and ignorance as well as on our perceptiveness and knowledge. The reading of Saleem's unreliable narration might be, I believed a useful analogy for the way in which we all, every day, attempt to 'read' the world. 

This is where Rushdie rewrites history. Through Saleem's rewriting of history, Rushdie wishes to suggest that there can be no universal and totalizing claims to human history and those who wish to assert so might be doing so to advocate a self- serving agenda.  This is where Rushdie, through Saleem, reclaims history.  The ability to "read the world" in our own way, a manner that is authentic and beyond the control of external forces, is where history is reclaimed in Midnight's Children.

Rushdie is able to challenge the supposed impartiality of history by displaying it as a collection of narratives rooted in power- based constructs.  One of the most powerful elements in Rushdie's work is the idea that his display of history is subjective based.  Saleem's narration is not entirely reliable, making significant errors at critical points.  It is also not entirely coherent, often times lacking a central focus point in its end.  This episodic and occasionally unreliable narration brings to light how Rushdie believes history is constructed.  Totality and perfection are not elements that are within human reach.  Rather, Rushdie seems to be arguing that historical subjectivity cannot be overcome.  History is always written and composed by those in the position of power.  In the battle between Shiva and Saleem, historical narrative falls under the force that has control, contributing to its impartial nature.  This becomes why Saleem's narrative becomes so important, as it represents a voice of resistance and individuality, as opposed to totality and impartiality.

The kind of truth that Salman Rushdie explores in the novel Midnight's Children is the truth that does not appear to be rational, or factual (not encyclopedia facts, at least), but which simply cannot be denied as true. It is Saleem's truth that he is falling apart. His powers are his truth, too. Saleem's character repeatedly pushes the boundaries of rationality to the reader. He lists many facts, which are presented with numbers, names, all the sorts of verifiable information one might expect from facts, and he uses them to construct vast narratives, which he then challenges the reader to verify for themselves, implementing an old rhetorical trick for seeming truthful. Midnight's Children challenges the reader to wonder how, if all this can be real to Saleem, then how fake can it really be?