“India's a very interesting place... there's no formal opposition, but there's genuine on-the-ground opposition.” Quote by Arundhati Roy
“The great irony is that people who live in remote areas, who are illiterate and don't own TVs, are in some ways more free because they are beyond the reach of indoctrination by the modern mass media.” PeopleWayModernMediaTvsMassAreasIronyIndoctrinationIlliterateMass Media Author:Arundhati Roy
“Mao said he was prepared to have millions of Chinese people perish in a nuclear war as long as China survived... I'm beginning to find it more and more sick that only humans make it into our calculations... Annihilate life on earth, but save the nation... what's the subject heading? Stupidity or Insanity?” PeopleHumansLongSaidWarEarthNationsMillionsSubjectsSickPreparedChinaStupidityNuclearChineseInsanitySurvivedCalculationsHeadingsNuclear WarMao Author:Arundhati Roy
“When you think of how much violence, how much blood... how much has been destroyed to create the great nations, America, Australia, Britain, Germany, France, Belgium - even India, Pakistan. Having destroyed so much to make them, we must have nuclear weapons to protect them - and climate change to hold up their way of life... a two-pronged annihilation project.” ThinkingWayHas BeensTwoAmericaNationsViolenceBloodProtectProjectsWeaponsIndiaClimateClimate ChangeNuclearDestroyedFranceGermanyBritainAustraliaNuclear WeaponsPakistanAnnihilationBelgiumGreat NationsIndia Pakistan Author:Arundhati Roy
“Every time I say the word capitalism, everyone just assumes I have plenty of Marxism in me, I do. But Russia and China had their bloody revolutions and even while they were Communist, they had the same idea about generating wealth - tear it out of the bowels of the earth. And now they have come out with the same idea in the end... you know, capitalism. But capitalism will fail, too.” KnowsIdeasEndsEarthWealthFailingTearsRevolutionCapitalismAssumingChinaRussiaPlentyCommunistBloodyMarxismBowels Author:Arundhati Roy
“Thousands of years of ideological, philosophical and practical decisions were made. They altered the surface of the earth, the coordinates of our souls. For every one of those decisions, maybe there's another decision that could have been made, should have been made.” ShouldYearsHas BeensMadeSoulEarthDecisionShould HavePhilosophicalSurfacePracticalsCould Have BeenShould Have BeenIdeologicalAlteredCoordinates Author:Arundhati Roy
“I don't have the Big Idea. I don't have the arrogance to even want to have the Big Idea. But I believe the physics of resisting power is as old as the physics of accumulating power. That's what keeps the balance in the universe... the refusal to obey.” WantBelieveIdeasBigsUniverseI BelieveBalancePhysicsArroganceRefusalResistingBig Ideas Author:Arundhati Roy
“What's a country? It's just an administrative unit, a glorified municipality. Why do we imbue it with esoteric meaning and protect it with nuclear bombs? I can't bow down to a municipality... it's just not intelligent. The bastards will do what they have to do, and we'll do what we have to do. Even if they annihilate us, we'll go down on the other side.” IfsI CanCountrySidesProtectIntelligentNuclearBombsBowsUnitsEsotericAdministrativeNuclear BombMunicipality Author:Arundhati Roy
“What sort of love is this love that we have for countries? What sort of country is it that will ever live up to our dreams? What sort of dreams were these that have been broken? Isn't the greatness of great nations directly proportionate to their ability to be ruthless, genocidal? Doesn't the height of a country's 'success' usually also mark the depths of its moral failure?” Has BeensCountryDreamNationsAbilityLove IsMoralGreatnessBrokenMarkDepthHeightOur DreamsRuthlessGreat NationsMoral Failure Author:Arundhati Roy
“Human beings seem unable to live without war, but they are also unable to live without love.” HumansWarSeemsHuman BeingsWithout Love Author:Arundhati Roy
“We're told, often enough, that as a species we are poised on the edge of the abyss. It's possible that our puffed-up, prideful intelligence has outstripped our instinct for survival and the road back to safety has already been washed away. In which case there's nothing much to be done. If there is something to be done, then one thing is for sure: those who created the problem will not be the ones who come up with a solution.” IfsDoneEnoughProblemCasesOne ThingSurvivalSolutionsSafetyInstinctSpeciesEdgesCome UpAbyss Author:Arundhati Roy