Quotes from The Great Indian Novel

“Great discoveries, Ganapathi, are often the result of making the wrong mistake at the right time.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“They say every dog has its day, Ganapathi, but for this terrier twilight came before tea-time.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“While he was alive, he was impossible to ignore; once he had gone, he was impossible to imitate.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“...(It) is to one British colonial policy-maker or another that we owe the Boxer Rebellion, the Mau Mau insurrection, the Boer War, and the Boston Tea Party”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“All knowledge is transient, linked to the world around it and subject to change as the world changes.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“If ever the Empire comes to ruin, Heaslop, mark my words, the British publisher will be to blame.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“In debate he thought high and aimed low.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“Gangaji’s truth required activism, not passivity.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“The past is not necessarily a guide to the future, but it does partly help explain the present.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“He leaned towards the young man, his eyes, mouth and face all round in concentration. ‘“There was a banned crow,”’ he intoned sonorously. ‘“There was a cold day.” Not bad, eh? I learned those on the boat. Sounds like perfect Urdu, I’m told.’ He paused and frowned. ‘The devil of it is remembering which one means, “close the door,” and which one will get someone to open it.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“India is not an underdeveloped country but a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“The principles he stood for and the way in which he asserted them were always easier to admire than to follow.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“While he was alive, he was impossible to ignore; once he had gone, he was impossible to imitate. When”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“If you believed in truth and cared enough to obtain it, Ganga affirmed, you had to be prepared actively to suffer for it. It was essential to accept punishment willingly in order to demonstrate the strength of one’s convictions. That”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“Basic truth about the colonies, Heaslop. Any time there’s trouble, you can put it down to books. Too many of the wrong ideas getting into the heads of the wrong sorts of people. If ever the Empire comes to ruin, Heaslop, mark my words, the British publisher will be to blame.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“Bengalis say when offered cod, we still have other fish to fry.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

“there is nothing restrictive or self-limiting about the Indian identity it reasserts: it is large, eclectic and flexible, containing multitudes. I”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.