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About India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the most populous country, and the most populous and world's biggest democracy in the world.
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful India quotes.
In a letter espousing his romanticized view of history, Friedrich Schlegel boldly proclaimed the all-encompassing influence of India on global civilization, furthering his Aryanist theories.
“Everything, absolutely everything, is of Indian origin.”
- India, S)
In his introduction to Mukherjee's work on Indian unity, J. Ramsay Macdonald highlights the inseparable connection between India and Hinduism, portraying them as intrinsically linked.
“India and Hinduism are organically related as body and soul.”
- India, M)
“India is a geographical term. It is no more a united nation than the equator.”
- India, C)
Rudyard Kipling's satirical jab about India, highlighting perceived exoticism and dangers, is used by Malhotra to critique Western universalism's view of the East.
“India, as everyone knows, is divided equally between jungle, tigers, cobras, cholera, and sepoys”
- India, K)
Addressing the Mayor of India in 1936, Governor-General Lord Linlithgow offered a sentiment reflecting British perceptions of Indian character, praising its "warm affections and abiding loyalties."
“India is a land of warm affections and abiding loyalities.”
- India, L)
In 1775, Voltaire, echoing prevailing Orientalist fascination, posited the Ganges as the source of key philosophical and scientific concepts, contributing to emerging European perspectives on civilization's origins.
“I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges, astronomy, astrology, metempsychosis, etc.”
- India, V)
“India is not only a country and something geographical, but the home and the youth of the soul, the everywhere and nowhere, the oneness of all times.”
- India, H)
In 1926, Sri Aurobindo distinguished India's cultural and spiritual nationhood from the modern, Western political "nation idea," a concept he argued was historically absent.
“The 'nation idea' India never had. By that I mean the political idea of the nation. It is a modern growth. But we had in India the cultural and spiritual idea of the nation.”
- India, A)
“Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Cool with the winds of delight,
Dark fields waving, Mother of might,
Mother free.”
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Cool with the winds of delight,
Dark fields waving, Mother of might,
Mother free.”
- India, C)
Writing against foreign-authored textbooks denying India's existence, K.M. Panikkar highlights the need for Indians to independently rediscover their own history and identity.
“Brought upon text books written by foreigners whose one object would seem to have been to prove that there was no such thing as India, we had each to ‘discover’ India for ourselves.”
- India, P)
Hakim's grim assessment of Sindh and its resources, intended for Caliph Uthman, likely dissuaded an early Arab invasion of North-western India.
“Its water is dark and dirty. Its fruit is bitter and poisonous. Its land is stony and its earth is salt. A small army will soon be annihilated there, and a large one will soon die of hunger.”
- India, C)
The Prithvi Sukta, a hymn from the Atharva Veda and considered by some as India's first national song, celebrates the Earth (Prithivī) as the sustainer of life and nourishment.
“She who bears plants endowed with many varied powers, may Prithivī for us spread wide and favour us. In whom the sea, and Sindhu, and the waters, in whom our food and corn-lands had their being.”
- India, A)
“In the tract of land known as Bhārata-varṣa, as in Ilāvṛta-varṣa, there are many mountains and rivers. ... The inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa are purified because they always remember these rivers.”
- India, B)
George Bernard Shaw, captivated by India's perceived authenticity, contrasts its natural lifestyle with the "unnatural masks" of Western society, as noted in multiple sources.
“The Indian way of life provides the vision of the natural, real way of life. We veil ourselves with unnatural masks. On the face of India are the tender expressions which carry the mark of the Creator's hand.”
- India, S)
Expressing anguish over invasion and violence, this verse from the Guru Granth Sahib is cited by Arun Shourie to critique secular historical narratives in India.
“You have engulfed Hindustan in dread... Oh Lord, these dogs have destroyed this diamond-like Hindustan, (so great is their terror that) no one asks after those who have been killed, and yet You do not pay heed.”
- India, G)
In Arthashastra, Chanakya defines the King-Emperor's dominion as stretching from the Himalayas to the sea, spanning a thousand yojanas east to west, establishing a geographical ambition.
“The area extending from the Himalayas in the north to the sea and a thousand yojanas wide from east to west is the area of operation of the King-Emperor.”
- India, C)
“That land where the black antelope naturally roams, one must know to be fit for the performance of sacrifices; (the tract) different from that (is) the country of the Mlekkhas.”
- India, M)
“It is maintained that INDIA (not in its present limits, but including its ancient boundaries) is the only country in the world which still has among her sons adepts, who have the knowledge of all the seven sub-systems and the key to the entire system.”
- India, B)
“The history of India for many centuries had been happier, less fierce, and more dreamlike than any other history. In these favorable conditions, they built a character meditative and peaceful and a nation of philosophers such as could have existed except nowhere in India.”
- India, W)
Sunan an-Nasa'i, a major hadith collection, contains a prophecy, Ghazwa-e-Hind, promising salvation for Muslims who invade India, linking it to Islamic eschatology.
“The Messenger of Allah said: 'There are two groups of my Ummah whom Allah will free from the Fire: The group that invades India (taghzoo al-hind), and the group that will be with 'Isa bin Maryam, peace be upon him.'”
- India, N)
India Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of India quotes by topic.
India on Indian Peace Commission 4 quotes
“If the savage resists, civilization, with the ten commandments in one hand and the sword in the other, demands his immediate extermination.”
India on Cattle slaughter in India 2 quotes
In 1888, amid rising tensions, Muslim editor Muharram Ali Chisti argued that banning cow slaughter to appease Hindus could justify dismantling Hindu temples and idols, as documented in McLane's work.
“Few Muslims were ready to concede the possibility that the rights of Hindus included the ability to stop cow slaughter. Muharram Ali Chisti, editor of Rafiq-i-Hind (Lahore) and subsequently a Congressman, argued in 1888 that “if Muslims were prevented from kine slaughter merely because the practice was prohibited by Hinduism, the Hindu idols and temples would have to be razed to the ground....”
India on Fauna of India
India on Marad Massacre
“The Marad massacre of Hindu fishermen by the Moslems has been conveniently ignored by the nation.”
India on Gay bar
In 2018, Indian MP Subramanian Swamy voiced his opposition to openly gay lifestyles, suggesting tolerance only if homosexuality remained private and discreet, according to The Times of India.
“As long as they don't celebrate it, don't flaunt it, don't create gay bars to select partners it's not a problem.”
India on Nehruism
“Nehruism represented in politics , economics , and international relations an arithmetic compromise between extremes.”
India on Sahitya Akademi
India on Elephants
India on Horses
India on Man
India on Hastin
India on 2006 Mumbai train bombings
What India Said About Others
Discover personal opinions India shared regarding contemporaries.
India on Daya Krishna 3 quotes
“It is not only that a very large number of Mantras from the Rgveda are repeated in the other Vedas, but that there are substantial repetitions in the Rgveda itself. (p.86)”
India on Manmohan Singh 3 quotes
“"The role of Pakistan-based terrorist groups cannot be minimized, but the involvement of local elements in recent blasts adds a new dimension to the terrorist threat," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said this month after the New Delhi bombings.”
- India, 2008)
India on François Gautier 3 quotes
“This was indeed a masterly stroke on the part of the British : thanks to the Aryan theory, they showed on the one hand that Indian civilisation was not that ancient and that it was posterior to the cultures which influenced the western world – Mesopotamia, Sumeria, or Babylon – and on the other hand, that whatever good things India had developed – Sanskrit, literature, or even its architecture, had been influenced by the West.”
- India, 1990s)
India on Elvis Presley 2 quotes
Defying the cynicism of the lyric, Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy serenaded his wife with Elvis's "Can't Help Falling in Love" at a leadership summit.
“Wise men say, only fools fall in love”
India on Gulzarilal Nanda 2 quotes
“He [Nehru] used to treat me with respect even when he didn't agree with me.”
India on S. Jaishankar
India on Meera Nanda
India on Mulayam Singh Yadav
“First girls develop friendship with boys. They when differences occur, they level rape charges. Boys commit mistakes. Will they be hanged for rape.”
India on A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
“We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.”
India on Sachin Tendulkar
“He continues to give more than 100 per cent and his schoolboy-like enthusiasm for the game is something I envy and admire. For the team he is the best available coaching manual.”
India on Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
““Respect for human rights requires transparent and accountable institutions and governance as well as the effective participation of all individuals and civil society, who are an essential part of realizing social and people-centred sustainable development.””
- India, 2013)
India on Benazir Bhutto
“In her death the subcontinent has lost an outstanding leader who worked for democracy and reconciliation in her country. The manner of her going is a reminder of the common dangers that our region faces from cowardly acts of terrorism and of the need to eradicate this dangerous threat.”
About India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the most populous country, and the most populous and world's biggest democracy in the world.