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About this quote

What does it mean?
India celebrates differences and defines belonging by shared space rather than bloodlines.
In plain terms
Belonging comes from shared land, not common ancestry.
What can you take from it?
Value shared belonging over ethnic purity.

Where it applies

  • immigration policy
  • national identity
  • community building

Putting it to work

  • promote civic nationalism
  • welcome diverse populations

Questions to consider

  • What defines belonging to a group?
  • Can bloodlines matter less than shared space?

Another view

Ethnic nationalism often opposes this view.

More from Shashi Tharoor

  1. 'India imposes no procrustean exactions on its citizens: you can be many things and one thing.' [15]

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  2. 'Ultimately, what matters in determining the validity of a nation is the will of its inhabitants to live and strive together.' [15]

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  3. 'Pluralist India must, by definition, tolerate plural expressions of its many identities.' [14]

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