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.
Arundhati RoyAn old-growth forest, a mountain range or a river valley is more important and certainly more loveable than any country will ever be.
Arundhati RoyFascism itself can only be turned away if all those who are outraged by it show a commitment to social justice that equals the intensity of their indignation.
Arundhati RoyIn a country like India, the British were only able to rule the country because it had completely co-opted the elite of the country, who did their work for them.
Arundhati RoyPublic support in the U.S. for the war against Iraq was founded on a multitiered edifice of falsehood and deceit, coordinated by the U.S. government and faithfully amplified by the corporate media.
Arundhati RoyI firstly don't think of myself as an activist, I never have. I always say that, I think this word "activist" is relatively recent one. I don't remember when people started being called that or what it means. It reduces both writers and activists, it makes it seem as though a writer's job is to just keep people entertained with best-selling books and the activist's job to keep on repeating the same thing without a great deal of subtlety and intelligence. I don't think either is the case.
Arundhati Roy