Cracking India provides a rich, complex portrait of the "old" India (before the end of British rule) at the precise moment it "cracked" and became two separate and ultimately hostile states, India and Pakistan. The books shows Indian society in all its diversity, unity, fragmentation, and pluralism.

QUESTIONS for discussion
 

• What was it like for Lenny, a young girl, growing up in this society?
• Notice the different statuses, religions, lives and behavior of the individual girls and women in the book---Lenny, Ayah, the girls in the Sikh village, Muccho, Papoo, among others. Is there anything that unifies their experiences? What are the source of the differences among women?
• How do the different religions (Hinduism, Sikh religion, Parsi religion, Islam, Christianity) deal with issues affecting women in the book?
• How does the political situation begin to affect Lenny and her life?
• What do you think is the author's message in this book? What is her attitude about Indian nationalism?