Saleem’s resemblance to the country binds his life to the major events occurring in India. He represents himself as a swallower of lives; the experiences of those around him leak into him and shape him. Story follows the fluidity of relationships and characters that come to life flawed and incredible. The only character that seems to be immovable is Saleem; he does not actively participate in his own tale, but assumes the powers of observer. Even after he learned how to close his eyes, he kept them open, leading the reader into a network of events and characters. Later he instinctively clings to history he does not remember by clinging to the spittoon. He is pushed around into events that spiral out of his control: a master and a victim in his own tale. His actions are guided by a higher force; fate maybe has mapped out his life as a passage, a transition. He is the link that will provide India with the next generation of midnight’s children. A new generation of midnight children was born because of Shiva, the god of procreation. Still he leaves his children to the fate.
Saleem’s life is so important, so intertwined with the history of a country that it cannot possibly be extinguished. Still Saleem predicts his own death. His death is another symbolic event he breaks to pieces and turns into dust. Born into a mess with an archenemy, he dies trembled and broken by a nameless crowd. Separated from his new wife he sees the ghosts of his past even Jamila has come to say goodbye. Then again this is not his crowd; his links to the world were broken one by one long ago. His family died by the bombs they might have sponsored. His sister ended up in secluded nunnery. His friends were killed just like Parvati-the-witch and many of the magicians. Changes were brought about and a new crowd has emerged that will be represented by his “son”. The new generation destroyed the old one.
The narrator has lost his gift and his sniffing abilities he applies to chutney in which he pours out his stories. Is this the end of his story? Has his usefulness to the grand scheme of life diminished? He leaves the reader with food for his though questioning his own narration saying that he has to revise and improve the story that there are things to be added. However every revision will alter the story and even the truth. Is the narrator telling us that we are left with a mere draft? The death of Saleem is an appropriate ending of an extraordinary tale of lives and deaths. Death is not the end though. Saleem tell us how he would like to die in Kashmir, but later we find out that he never reaches it. As he explodes he calls himself a “bomb in Bombay” (533), he is in the city he was born. No remains are left, but he cannot be forgotten. He has shaped and changed many lives and left a record of his actions for the new generations.
The last paragraph is a prediction of the future. His story will be repeated with his son as the main character. He will be tossed in turbulent sea of events that will ultimately lead him to the same end. The death of the midnight’s children is just another beginning.
Possession: Uncovering Literature's Secrets 
I find the end of Midnight’s children fits perfectly into the narrative style of Saleem. Saleem faces and accepts this “end” passively. His acceptance of the belief that all the generations of his sons will face the same fate only adds to his meekness in the face of death. The connection you made between the “bomb of Bombay” line and the immense strength of his bond to India was excellent, and the image of him disintegrating into 600 million particles corroborates this. I find that his obsession with the destiny of all his children to reflect the mythical elements he commonly ties to his homeland.
When the narrator briefly hints towards his death in the long run, one can truly believe that he accepts the idea of his demise. Passiveness is one of the commentator’s ways of explaining his acceptance, but I also feel that his passive connotations were a sign of humility. His eyes were opened once he lost his keen sense of prophesy, but he was able to look at situations (even his own death) in a light perspective. One could say that he was so intrigued with his advancing sense of smell that he purely just tried to enjoy every minute of it without any distractions. In summary, Saleem ended the book in his most infamous tone, in which he described his happenings in a more emotional and lightened form, which came off as passive.
I believe that Saleem’s death in the end of the story was inevitable; many different events such as his body shattering and his loss of special abilities definitely foreshadow an untimely demise. I agree with your statement that he has changed the many lives, because he has been so instrumental in the interactions between the midnight’s children. His exploding into 600 million pieces came as no surprise to me, as I figured out the reference to the indian population almost immediately. Saleem’s death is clearly not the end, as you mentioned. His son will probably be involved in many similar events. His actions have created a legacy that the next generation of midnight’s children will remember and respect. Overall, Saleem has clear connections to the country of India, and his death is very symbolic in Indian history. He died an appropriate death and will be remembered by many different characters in the novel for years to come.