“
So that means you are almost old enough to be my grandfather." Raj laughed, Your great, great, grandfather, more likely, but whose counting?
”
”
D.B. Reynolds (Rajmund (Vampires in America, #3))
“
What cannot be learnt through education, training, and observation is learnt by experience;and learning through experience is the hardest and the best.For, experience is not inherited; earned.
”
”
Doctor Kesi (Rage In The Jungle, Raj On The Street)
“
Chelsea's not near here," I said. "Do whatever hoodoo you need to do to know if Raj is nearby."
"Hoodoo"? said Tybalt, sounding amused. "I'm the King of Cats, October, not the King of Goblins."
"And you don't live in a labyrinth, but that doesn't mean you can't make like a Henson character and start scrying for our missing boy.
”
”
Seanan McGuire (Ashes of Honor (October Daye, #6))
“
Kita semua bisa melakukannya, jika Isra' Mi'raj didefinisikan sebagai perjalanan menuju ruang pemaknaan. Buroqnya? Kesabaran dan pikiran yang terbuka.
”
”
Lenang Manggala
“
Raj!' the vampire said, 'I heard you were in town. What's up big guy?'............"'Loose the human, Kent.' Raj growled.
”
”
D.B. Reynolds (Rajmund (Vampires in America, #3))
“
सबैले भने "प्रेम नगर |" मैले टेरिन
”
”
Nayan Raj Pandey (घामकिरी [Ghamkiri])
“
Rumours began with the whispered gossip of native servants and spread quickly to the rest of the population.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
Agricultural sustainability doesn't depend on agritechnology. To believe it does is to put the emphasis on the wrong bit of 'agriculture.' What sustainability depends on isn't agri- so much as culture.
”
”
Raj Patel (The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy)
“
English is not spare. But it is beautiful. It cannot be called truthful because its subtleties are infinite. It is the language of a people who have probably earned their reputation for perfidy and hypocrisy because their language itself is so flexible, so often light-headed with statements which appear to mean one thing one year and quite a different thing the next.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
But what doesn’t die is the love we give to others. There is no end to that.
”
”
Gloria Whelan (Small Acts of Amazing Courage (Rosalind of the Raj, #1))
“
Sirotinji su svi ratovi isti, jer je sirotinja budalasta pa gine i vjeruje kako je žrtva beskrajnome Bogu mila. A on ustvari okrene glavu na drugu stranu da ne gleda kako mu stvorenja odlaze u štetu. Stvorio je i jedne i druge, krst i polumjesec je stvorio, ljude s obje strane koji jednako vjeruju u jedinoga Boga, stvoritelja Neba i Zemlje, pa kad im sablja odcapari glavu, posljednja misao glavi je da pada u blato na svetome putu i u svetome ratu. I da će duša otići u raj u kojem su valjda, iako se o tome ništa ne govori, razdvojene odaje onih koji padoše pod krstom i nas koje mlad mjesec čuva. Ako nisu razdvojene, pa ako je i džennet udešen da se duše miješaju jedne s drugima, tada smo zalud krvavili sablje.
”
”
Miljenko Jergović (Inšallah, Madona, Inšallah)
“
Raj leaned over from the driver's seat to give her a quick, hard kiss. 'Don't think so hard sweetheart. I'm not dangerous.' He spun the wheel in a tight circle, taking them past the startled valets and out of the parking lot. 'Not to you anyway,' he muttered.
”
”
D.B. Reynolds (Rajmund (Vampires in America, #3))
“
(...)nasz naród do życia nie potrzebuje na przykład autostrad i dlatego prawie ich nie mamy.Nasz naród do życia potrzebuje nieszczęścia.Dopiero kiedy pojawi się nieszczęście - nieudane powstanie warszawskie, czy inna klęska - jesteśmy kimś.
”
”
Mariusz Szczygieł (Zrób sobie raj)
“
If war is gods way of teaching geography to Americans, then recession is his way of teaching little economics to everyone
”
”
Raj Patel (The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy)
“
Charat Singh was feeling kind, though he did not relax the grin which symbolized six thousand years of racial and class superiority.
”
”
Mulk Raj Anand (Untouchable)
“
Appreciate the plant that grows in your balcony only for you
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Happiness is not the Achievement of Dreams.
It is the Path to Dreams.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Do not Speak for Anyone.
Just let them know their Right to Speak.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
I am a product of two worlds and each world has given me a reason to love, be kind and grow strong.
”
”
Shilpa Raj (The Elephant Chaser's Daughter)
“
There’s a difference between trying to stop an injustice and obstructing justice.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
You seem to like everybody. It’s unnatural. It’s also unfortunate. You’re going to waste so much time before you’ve worked out who the people are it’s worth your while to know.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
As long as your feelings, faith, honesty and understanding are alive, there is no need to measure your love.
”
”
Raj Singh (Anna Hazare "Adhoori Jeet Ke Nayak" (Hindi Edition))
“
A joker is the one who learns to laugh outside of happiness
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
I AM AT ODDS WITH MYSELF.
I WILL GET EVEN WITH MYSELF.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
How queer, the Hindus don’t feed their cows although they call the cow “mother”!’ Bakha thought.
”
”
Mulk Raj Anand (Untouchable)
“
Nobody can stay with you forever; somebody will leave you soon or somebody very late but you must be left one day. so, don't get lost. Be with yourself. Life will never pain you.
”
”
Raj Singh (Breakup Before Love)
“
Mothers and fathers have an extra set of hands when they need them, and children and grandparents connect, building the kind of deep and lasting relationships that I had with Thatha and that Preetha has with my mother and Raj’s parents.
”
”
Indra Nooyi (My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future)
“
Though bad names and deeds those bring them spread fast, words of praise from selfless tongues pass miles and to million faster.
”
”
Doctor Kesi (Rage In The Jungle, Raj On The Street)
“
Crediting someone for your unhappiness is
about not taking responsibility yourself.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Do you have an idea of what your parents are going through?
Set your world right.
Parents have no idea of what you are going through.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Animals do not even know that God is someone else
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
I couldn’t live with myself if I thought nothing could get better.
”
”
Gloria Whelan (All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens (Rosalind of the Raj, #2))
“
ADDICTS ARE NICE PEOPLE. THEY CAN NEVER SAY NO, EVEN TO THEMSELVES.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Tread lightly, little one." He warned. "You don't want to push me. Not tonight." Her eyes darkened with anger, narrowing as she met his gaze. "Really? And why is that Raj?"..."I am tired of you thinking you have the right to control me. You are not my boyfriend, and you sure as hell are not my keeper, so from where I stand, you've got no claim on me what so ever. Like the song says, you don't want me for yourself so let me find someone else. It's shit or get off the pot time, Raj. It's now or never, Time to-" She gave a shriek as Raj swung an arm around her waist and lifted her off her feet. He threaded the fingers of one hand through her hair and pulled it aside, freeing the long line of her neck. "Then I choose now," he growled and sank his fangs into the velvet skin of her neck puncturing the fragile walls of her jugular.
”
”
D.B. Reynolds (Rajmund (Vampires in America, #3))
“
It is not wholly surprising, however, that, when India began to reassert herself, two nations should have replaced the single British Raj; but all impartial students must regret that the unity of the Indian sub-continent has been once more lost, and trust that the two great nations of India and Pakistan may soon forget the bitterness born of centuries of strife, in cooperation for the common welfare of their peoples.
”
”
A.L. Basham (The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent Before the Coming of the Muslims)
“
Untended jealousy is merciless.
”
”
Doctor Kesi (Rage In The Jungle, Raj On The Street)
“
One always saw and sees through pretense.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
Changing a Habit is Never Difficult.
Difficult is to Address Your Unwillingness to do it
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
The Game gives you a Purpose. The Real Game is, to Find a Purpose.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Helping People is Fun. Getting to a Position to help is Not.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Till mirrors were Invented, Face was not You, Not Even part of Your Performance.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
The calendar was a mathematical progression with arbitrary surprises.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Towers of Silence (The Raj Quartet, #3))
“
They own the window,
You own the view
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Love is not an antidote of depression or loneliness, but it itself is a cause of depression and loneliness.
”
”
Raj Singh (Breakup Before Love)
“
People think that a person is scared when he's lying. But the fact is, he is even more scared when he's telling the truth.
”
”
Raj Singh (Anna Hazare "Adhoori Jeet Ke Nayak" (Hindi Edition))
“
We are the craft of our towns.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
One day, as Sarita tended to the wash, Gemma played in the garden. She was a knight, you see, with a sword fashioned out of wood. Most formidable, she was, though I didn't quite know how formidable. As I sat in my study, I heard screaming from outside. I ran to see what the commotion was. Sarita called to me, wide-eyed with fear, "Oh, Mr. Doyle, look- over there!" The tiger had entered the garden and was making his way toward where our Gemma frolicked with her wooden sword. Beside me, our house servant, Raj, drew his blade so stealthily it seemed to simply appear in his hand by magic. But Sarita stayed his hand. "If you run for him with your life, you will provoke the tiger," she advised. "We must wait."...
I must tell you that it was the longest moment of my life. No one dared move. No one dared draw a breath. And all the while, Gemma played on, taking no notice until the great cat was upon her. She stood and faced him. They stared at one another as if each wondered what to make of the other, as if they sensed a kindred spirit. At last, Gemma placed her sword upon the ground. "Dear tiger," she said. "You may pass if you are peaceful." The tiger looked at the sword and back at Gemma, and without a sound, it passed on, dissappearing into the jungle."
...
"The tiger had gone. He did not come around a gain. But I was a man possessed. The tiger had come too close, you see. I no longer felt safe. I hired the best tracker in Bombay. We hunted for days, tracking the tiger to the mountains there. We found him taking water from a small watering hole. He looked up but he did not charge. He took no notice of us at all but continued to drink. "Sahib, let us go," the boy said. "This tiger means you no harm." He was right, of course. But we had come all that way. The gun was in my hand. The tiger was before us. I took aim and shot it dead on the spot. I sold the tiger's skin for a fortune to a man in Bombay, and he called me brave for it. But it was not courage that brought me to that; it was fear..."But you," he says, smiling with a mix of sadness and pride, "you faced the tiger and survived."
...
"The time has come for me to face my tiger, to look him in the eye and see which of us survives." - Mr. Doyle
”
”
Libba Bray (The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle, #3))
“
Nisam im rekla kako me je život naučio da onaj ko u ljubavi
traži raj uvek pati, a da onog ko taj raj ne traži niko nikada nije
voleo. Nisam im rekla da me je baš tu gde oni sviraju u naručju
nosio i pijan mi pevao
te oči tvoje zelene, te reči tvoje lažljive
Dimi
-
trije Stojković, oficir srpske kraljevske vojske.
Uzeo mi je pola duše.
”
”
Vesna Dedić Milojević (Pola duše)
“
Difficult times will come.” It’s a fact of life, isn’t it? There are good times and bad times in everybody’s life.
”
”
Raj Kosaraju
“
Unrequited love is most painful. If you express you feeling it may hurt her/him but if don't express it will hurt you like hell.
”
”
Raj Singh (Breakup Before Love)
“
English people are not mass-produced. They do not come off a factory line all looking, speaking, thinking, acting the same. Neither do we.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Day of the Scorpion (The Raj Quartet, #2))
“
Deny people something they want, over a longish period, and they naturally start disagreeing about precisely what it is they do want.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
How can people be punished when they are innocent?
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
In Your Early Years people Tell You, Correct You and Forgive You. But when you become an Adult, they Neither Correct you nor Forgive You
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Who gets to Live? You or Your Rules?
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
To make your Opinion Count,
you have to do something more
than just making Money.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
There is only One Man Playing your Game, You!
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Dharma or Ethics and Morals are the Fundamental Set of Rules created for those who want to Play the Game, by those who are Inside the Game.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
You have been through a lot, if you've been through my poetry
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Don't just sit there trying to make a sense of this world. Be a part of the nonsense.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
No step is a small step.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
One day you will find your feet. Right now they are hidden under you.
One day you will again lose the sight of your feet. By then learn to remain grounded.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
My friends, wherever you go, go with all your heart.
”
”
Shilpa Raj (The Elephant Chaser's Daughter)
“
God has given you the same brain, so use your own in stead of borrowing ideas from somebody else. Think about and fathom the ideas before following them.
”
”
Raj Singh (Anna Hazare "Adhoori Jeet Ke Nayak" (Hindi Edition))
“
If people leave you, they may be right or wrong
If you quit happiness, you're definitely wrong
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
You have not seen desperation and helplessness till you have seen a man hopeless in love. Of course, unless you have seen a gamer.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Don't fight over dead Kings and Queens.
The Kings never fought for you.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Whatever may be said about Mountbatten’s tactics or the machinations of Patel, their achievement remains remarkable. Between them, and in less than a year, it may be argued that these two men achieved a larger India, more closely integrated, than had 90 years of the British raj, 180 years of the Mughal Empire, or 130 years of Asoka and the Maurya rulers.
”
”
Alex von Tunzelmann (Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire)
“
Nothing in life is simple. You have to keep yourself simple.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Celebrating the Queen!
Chess tells you that the king can't do anything alone
8 March International Women's Day
शतरंज बताती है राजा अकेला कुछ नहीं कर सकता है
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
I am rich in something that every other girl lacks. I am peerless. I command as I choose; I discard as I will.
”
”
Doctor Kesi (Rage In The Jungle, Raj On The Street)
“
The structure of a friendship is seldom submitted to analysis until it comes under pressure;
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
the unexpected side of a man’s personality is more memorable than the proof he may appear to give from time to time that he is unchanged, unchangeable.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
She had to make her own marvelous mistakes.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
in this life, living, there is no dignity except perhaps in laughter.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
It is said that he spoke the language of the greased palm, and this language is international.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
There is no Situation in which Arms can get an Answer. Arms only ensure, that there would Never be an Answer.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
What do you mean, You have No Dreams?
The Truth is, you have No Courage.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Look Below and You'll feel Rich,
Look Above and You'll feel Poor
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
When Design become Useless it becomes Art. Yesterday's Artisans are today's Artists.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Self-discovery is among the greatest of discoveries, like atoms, electrons and neutrons, which cannot be seen but whose impact can either destroy billions of lives or save them.
”
”
Raj Suthar
“
No Student can stand the Gruel of Sports Training unless she has a Passion for Fame.
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
If there is no disparity of opinions there is nothing of value being discussed
”
”
Vineet Raj Kapoor
“
Hitler’s model for domination and exploitation remained the British Empire. His inspiration for the future rule of his master-race was the Raj. He voiced his admiration on many occasions for the way such a small country as Great Britain had been able to establish its rule throughout the world in a huge colonial empire. British rule in India in particular showed what Germany could do in Russia. It must be possible to control the eastern territory with quarter of a million men, he stated. With that number the British ruled 400 million Indians. Russia would always be dominated by German rulers. They must see to it that the masses were educated to do no more than read road signs, though a reasonable living standard for them was in the German interest. The
”
”
Ian Kershaw (Hitler)
“
I think beyond the superficial accolades, at its core, fans stream and buy albums and merchs, because they want to show that they acknowledge the hard work of the artists and their staff. The stream count, album sales and awards are tangible proof that the idols’ music is good. That they are popular. That they are better.
”
”
Arushi Raj (Understand K-pop: Deconstructing the Obsession and Toxicity in K-pop Stan Culture)
“
Praise to our Indian brothers, and the dark face have his due!
Thanks to the kindly dark faces who fought with us, faithful and few,
Fought with the bravest among us, and drove them, and smote them, and slew.
That ever upon the topment roof our banner in India blew.
”
”
Alfred Tennyson (Tennyson: Poems)
“
When you spoke to her there wasn’t any mystery. In herself she was all the explanation I felt she needed. And that is rare, isn’t it? To be explained by yourself, by what you are and what you do, and not by what you’ve done, or were, or by what people think you might be or might become.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
Well, life is not just a business of standing on dry land and occasionally getting your feet wet. It is merely an illusion that some of us stand on one bank and some on the opposite. So long as we stand like that we are not living at all, but dreaming. So jump, jump in, and let the shock wake us up. Even if we drown, at least for a moment or two before we die we shall be awake and alive.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
Life isn’t just about defying death,” Raj says, his voice coming through the speakers on either side of the television. “It’s also about defying yourself, about insisting on transformation. As long as you can transform, my friends, you cannot die. What does Clark Kent have in common with the chameleon? Right when they’re on the brink of destruction, they change. Where have they gone? Nowhere we can see. The chameleon has become a branch. Clark Kent has become Superman.
”
”
Chloe Benjamin (The Immortalists)
“
Life isn’t just about defying death,’ Raj says, his voice coming through the speakers on either side of the television. ‘It’s also about defying yourself, about insisting on transformation. As long as you can transform, my friends, you cannot die. What does Clark Kent have in common with the chameleon? Right when they’re on the brink of destruction, they change. Where have they gone? Nowhere we can see. The chameleon has become a branch. Clark Kent has become Superman.
”
”
Chloe Benjamin (The Immortalists)
“
the politics behind witch hunts concerns a new vision of the world, where women who insisted on their rights to value land, to their freedom to common, had no place.14 It was in their defense of commoning that women were killed as witches.
”
”
Raj Patel (The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy)
“
In such a fashion human beings call for explanations of the things that happen to them and in such a way scenes and characters are set for exploration, like toys set out by kneeling children intent on pursuing their grim but necessary games.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
There are images that stay vividly in your mind, even after many years: images coupled with the feeling that at the same time came to you. Sometimes you can know that such an image has been selected to stay with you forever out of the hundreds you every day encounter.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
Thirty, forty miles?” “Well,” said Lila, verbally pouting. “I guess we’d better settle in for a long trip.” She pushed her body even harder against Raj, then glared at the side of her father’s head. Lila and Trevor got along with Meyer, but they were still teenagers. Piper, recently a teen herself, tried to understand, but often there was no use. Somewhere around your twenty-second birthday, teenagers started sounding like melodramatic idiots no matter what you did. “That’s another reason to get a hotel room,” Piper said. “They might let planes fly again. We can take the Gulfstream.
”
”
Sean Platt (Invasion (Alien Invasion, #1))
“
It was extraordinary, Ahmed thought, how men distinguished in one field – and he assumed that Pandit Baba Sahib was distinguished – seemed to claim for themselves wisdom in all spheres of human activity; wisdom and the right to make pronouncements which they expected you to listen to and learn from.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Day of the Scorpion (The Raj Quartet, #2))
“
I fought to stay awake and keep the car on the road. And I thought back to texts I had read from the British Army in India, during the Raj, at the height of their empire. Young subalterns trapped in junior ranks had their own mess. They would dine together in splendid dress uniforms and talk about their chances of promotion. But they had none, unless a superior officer died. Dead men's shoes was the rule. So they would raise their crystal glasses of fine French wine and toast "bloody wars and dread diseases" because a casualty further up the chain of command was their only way to get ahead. Brutal, but that's how it's always been, in the military.
”
”
Lee Child (Persuader (Jack Reacher, #7))
“
She had devoted her life, in a practical and unimportant way, trying to prove that fear was evil because it promoted prejudice, that courage was good because it was a sign of selflessness, that ignorance was bad because fear sprang from it, that knowledge was good because the more you knew of the world’s complexity the more clearly you saw the insignificance of the part you played.
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
The country was passing through turbulent times. British Raj was on its last legs. The World War had sucked the juice out of the British economy. Britain neither had the resources nor the will to hold on to a country the size of India. Sensing the British weakness and lack of resources to rule, different leagues of Indians sniffed different destinies in the air following the imminent exit of the British: a long stretch of Nehru Raj, Hindu Raj extending from Kashmir to Kerala not seen since Emperor Ashoka in third-century BCE before the emperor himself renounced Hinduism and turned a non-violent Buddhist, a Muslim-majority state carved out of two shoulders of India with a necklace-like corridor running through her bosom along Grand Trunk Road, balkanisation of the country with princes ruling the roost, and total chaos.
From August 1946 onwards, chaos appeared to be the most likely destiny as it spurted in Bengal, Bihar, and United Provinces, ending in the carnage of minority communities at every place.
The predicament of British government was how to cut their losses and run without many British casualties before the inevitable chaos spread to the whole country.
The predicament of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, was how to achieve his dream of Muslim-majority Pakistan carved out of India before his imminent demise from tuberculosis he suffered from, about which—apart from his doctor—only a handful of his closest relations and friends knew about.
The predicament of Jawaharlal Nehru, the heir apparent of the Congress Party anointed by Gandhiji, was how to attain independence of the country followed by Nehru Raj while Gandhiji, a frail 77-year-old at the time, was still alive, for God only knew who would be the leader of the party once Gandhiji’s soul and his moral authority were dispatched to heaven, and Nehru couldn’t possibly leave the crucial decision in the hands of a God he didn’t particularly believe in.
Time was of the essence to all the three.
”
”
Manjit Sachdeva (Lost Generations)
“
For years, since the eighteenth century, and in each century since, we have said at home, in England, in Whitehall, that the day would come when our rule in India will end, not bloodily, but in peace, in—so we made it seem—a perfect gesture of equality and friendship and love. For years, for nearly a century, the books that Indians have read have been the books of our English radicals, our English liberals. There has been, you see, a seed. A seed planted in the Indian imagination and in the English imagination. Out of it was to come something sane and grave, full of dignity, full of thoughtfulness and kindness and peace and wisdom. For all these qualities are in us, in you, and in me, in old Joseph and Mr. Narayan and Mr. White and I suppose in Brigadier Reid. And they were there too, in Mr. Chaudhuri. For years we have been promising and for years finding means of putting the fulfilment of the promise off until the promise stopped looking like a promise and started looking only like a sinister prevarication, even to me, let alone to Indians who think and feel and know the same as me. And the tragedy is that between us there is this little matter of the colour of the skin, which gets in the way of our seeing through each other’s failings and seeing into each other’s hearts. Because if we saw through them, into them, then we should know. And what we should know is that the promise is a promise and will be fulfilled.” But
”
”
Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, #1))
“
Incidentally, I do not agree with you when you speak of Indian independence having become a foregone conclusion. Independence is not something you can divide into phases. It exists or does not exist. Certain steps might be taken to help bring it into existence, others can be taken that will hinder it doing so. But independence alone is not the idea I pursue, nor the idea which the party I belong to tries to pursue, no doubt making many errors and misjudgements in the process. The idea, you know, isn’t simply to get rid of the British. It is to create a nation capable of getting rid of them and capable simultaneously of taking its place in the world as a nation, and we know that every internal division of our interests hinders the creation of such a nation. That is why we go on insisting that the Congress is an All India Congress. It is an All India Congress first, because you cannot detach from it the idea that it is right that it should be. Only second is it a political party, although one day that is what it must become. Meanwhile, Governor-ji, we try to do the job that your Government has always found it beneficial to leave undone, the job of unifying India, of making all Indians feel that they are, above all else, Indians. You think perhaps we do this to put up a strong front against the British. Partly only you would be right. Principally we do it for the sake of India when you are gone. And we are working mostly in the dark with only a small glimmer of light ahead, because we have never had that kind of India, we do not know what kind of India that will be. This is why I say we are looking for a country. I can look for it better in prison, I’m afraid, than from a seat on your Excellency’s executive council.
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Paul Scott (The Day of the Scorpion (The Raj Quartet, #2))