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About this quote

What does it mean?
The author credits India with shaping his personal identity and expresses a mutual desire to contribute to the country.
In plain terms
India shaped who he is and he wants to help India.
What can you take from it?
Personal identity and national contribution are intertwined.

Where it applies

  • personal reflection
  • public service
  • diaspora engagement

Putting it to work

  • connect personal growth to nation
  • serve where you belong

Questions to consider

  • How does a country shape an individual?
  • What does it mean to matter to a nation?

Another view

Mutual contribution is not always guaranteed or reciprocated.

More from Shashi Tharoor

  1. 'India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in…

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  2. 'Does NRI (Non-Resident Indian) stand for Not Really Indian or Never Relinquished India? I believe a little of both!' [3]

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  3. 'What is most important to me is Jawaharlal Nehru's idea of India, India as a pluralist society and polity, an idea which is central to India's survival, which…

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