When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

by

Jhumpa Lahiri

Partition was the 1947 division of British India into two Dominions (self-governing nations within the British Empire) along religious lines: the majority-Hindu India and the majority-Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan encompassed West Pakistan on one side of the Indian subcontinent and East Pakistan on the other side. The Partition of India was a chaotic and violent split, resulting in genocide, mass displacement, a refugee crisis, and conflict between Hindus and Muslims that’s still ongoing today.

Partition of India Quotes in When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

The When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine quotes below are all either spoken by Partition of India or refer to Partition of India. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family, Ritual, and Shared Time Theme Icon
).
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine Quotes

We learned American history, of course, and American geography. That year, and every year, it seemed, we began by studying the Revolutionary War. We were taken in school buses on field trips to visit Plymouth Rock, and to walk the Freedom Trail, and to climb to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. We made dioramas out of colored construction paper depicting George Washington crossing the choppy waters of the Delaware River, and we made puppets of King George wearing white tights and a black bow in his hair. During tests we were given blank maps of the thirteen colonies, and asked to fill in names, dates, capitals. I could do it with my eyes closed.

Related Characters: Lilia (speaker), Lilia’s Father
Page Number: 27
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine LitChart as a printable PDF.
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine PDF

Partition of India Term Timeline in When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

The timeline below shows where the term Partition of India appears in When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine
Food, Culture, and Connection Theme Icon
Independence, Revolution, and Violence Theme Icon
When Lilia is confused by this new information, her father explains Partition. In 1947, soon after India gained independence from Britain, India and Pakistan split along religious... (full context)
Food, Culture, and Connection Theme Icon
Youth and Innocence vs. Maturity and Responsibility Theme Icon
...same thing. She thinks it is unreasonable to expect that Lilia will be taught about Partition, but Lilia’s father continues to worry, asking, “what does she learn about the world?” (full context)