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Nadir Khan / Qasim Khan
Amina’s second husband and protagonist Saleem’s father. Ahmed is first introduced as the suitor of Amina’s sister, Alia; however, Ahmed quickly falls in love with Amina after she is divorced from her first husband, and he never does propose to Alia. Ahmed has already been married and divorced by the time he marries Amina, and Amina’s mother, Reverend Mother, dislikes him from the start. Ahmed and Amina’s marriage is generally an unhappy union, in which Amina continues to pine over her first husband, and Ahmed sinks deeper and deeper into alcoholism and depression. Both of Ahmed’s children, Saleem and the Brass Monkey, have a strained relationship with their father, and he is separated from his children for four years when their mother moves them to Pakistan without him. Ahmed’s relationship with his family finally improves after he suffers a cardiac complication, but for most of the story he alienates himself from his family. He is killed after moving to Pakistan in an air-raid during the Indo-Pakistani War.
Ahmed Sinai Quotes in Midnight’s Children
The Midnight’s Children quotes below are all either spoken by Ahmed Sinai or refer to Ahmed Sinai. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1: Under the Carpet
Quotes
“Change your name,” Ahmed Sinai said. “Time for a fresh start. Throw Mumtaz and her Nadir Khan out of the window, I’ll choose you a new name. Amina. Amina Sinai: you’d like that?”
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Book 1: Many-headed Monsters
Quotes
“It was only a matter of time,” my father said, with every appearance of pleasure; but time has been an unsteady affair, in my experience, not a thing to be relied upon. It could even be partitioned: the clocks in Pakistan would run a half an hour ahead of their Indian counterparts…Mr. Kemal, who wanted nothing to do with Partition, was fond of saying, “Here’s proof of the folly of the scheme! Those Leaguers plan to abscond with a whole thirty minutes! Time without Partitions,” Mr. Kemal cried, “That’s the ticket!” And S. P. Butt said, “If they can change the time just like that, what’s real any more?” I ask you? What’s true?”
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Ahmed Sinai Quotes in Midnight’s Children
The Midnight’s Children quotes below are all either spoken by Ahmed Sinai or refer to Ahmed Sinai. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1: Under the Carpet
Quotes
“Change your name,” Ahmed Sinai said. “Time for a fresh start. Throw Mumtaz and her Nadir Khan out of the window, I’ll choose you a new name. Amina. Amina Sinai: you’d like that?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1: Many-headed Monsters
Quotes
“It was only a matter of time,” my father said, with every appearance of pleasure; but time has been an unsteady affair, in my experience, not a thing to be relied upon. It could even be partitioned: the clocks in Pakistan would run a half an hour ahead of their Indian counterparts…Mr. Kemal, who wanted nothing to do with Partition, was fond of saying, “Here’s proof of the folly of the scheme! Those Leaguers plan to abscond with a whole thirty minutes! Time without Partitions,” Mr. Kemal cried, “That’s the ticket!” And S. P. Butt said, “If they can change the time just like that, what’s real any more?” I ask you? What’s true?”
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