Shashi Tharoor Quotes on Diversity
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'We all have multiple identities in India; we are all minorities in India. Our heterogeneity is definitional.' [6]
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'The only possible idea of India is that of a nation greater than the sum of its parts.' [9]
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'The idea of India is not based on language, not on geography, not on ethnicity and not on religion. The idea of India is of one land embracing many. You can be many things and one thing: you can be a good Keralite, a good Muslim and a good Indian all at once.' [10]
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'If India had a Latin version of the American motto E Pluribus Unum, it would be E Pluribus Pluribum.' [12]
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'If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali -- a collection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each may not mix with the next, but they combine on your palate to produce a satisfying repast.' [12]
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'The pluralism and the linguistic diversity of India is something of which we can truly be proud.' [13]
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'India imposes no procrustean exactions on its citizens: you can be many things and one thing.' [15]
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'In India we celebrate the commonality of major differences; we are a land of belonging rather than of blood.' [15]
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'Like India herself, I am at home in hovels and palaces, Ganapathi, I trundle in bullock-carts and propel myself into space, I read the vedas and quote the laws of cricket. I move to the strains of a morning raga in perfect evening dress.' [16]
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'There is no one way to look at India. There are many Indias. Pluralism is a reality that emerges from the very nature of the country; it is a choice made inevitable by India's geography and reaffirmed by its history. We are all minorities in India.' - Shashi Tharoor at the recently concluded PANIIT 2006 in Bombay.