How Partition In 1947 Impacted the Culinary Culture of India? A Historical Discussion on The Shared Culinary Practices Across the Border

Abstract

Partition of India was an egregious mishappening, in which a million perished and about twelve million lay displaced. The history of partition is full of accounts of sorrow, communal hatred, and unabated violence. However, the arduous migratory journeys across the two sides of the border and subsequent exchange of population between India and two wings of newly formed Pakistan, also led to massive cultural exchange. The moment of acute survival instinct on the part of sufferers, not only caused acceptance of other culture’s cuisines, but also gave birth to culinary experimentation. This article hereby, attempts to enrich the culinary history of India by discovering some regional recipes, having its roots in Pakistan and carried on by the refugees as a symbol of partition legacy. This article fills in the research gap in hitherto partition studies, by treating culinary practice as a tool of social memory. This paper also looks into such recipes from the prism of present-day soft diplomacy and popular food culture in India.