I've never yet managed to write a novel which didn't have an Indian central character.

A sigh isn't just a sigh. We inhale the world and breathe out meaning. While we can. While we can.

British society has never been cleansed of the filth of imperialism.

The only privilege literature deserves - and this privilege it requires in order to exist - is the privilege of being in the arena of discourse, the place where the struggle of our languages can be acted out.

One minute you've got a lucky star watching over you and the next instant it's done a bunk.

It is often said by religious people that without its framework, there is no sense of right or wrong. My view is that religion comes after ethics.

I do think there was a period there when my sanity was under intense pressure, and I didn't know what to say or do or how to act. I was literally living from day to day.