Summary - SH

1) To understand the nationalism of today, one must revisit the nationalism of yesterday. This echoes Nietzsche’s idea that history exists “for the purpose of life”. National identity thrives on stories — those we tell about ourselves and those we choose to remember. Cultural mythmaking, moral exceptionalism, and a sense of righteous pride together fuel the imagination of the nation. Storytelling, then, is not incidental to nationalism — it is its very lifeblood. Stories give coherence to history and legitimacy to collective identity. 2) Missing municipal governance is the real reason why most Indian cities routinely make the annual list of the worst governed cities of the world. This is why nearly half the citizens of Mumbai live in squalid shanties that have no access to basic municipal services like clean water and electricity. This from someone who has lived in Mumbai for the most part of more than 30 years, who consider herself an honorary citizen of this magnificent, chaotic behemoth of a city. But she also spend a lot of time brooding over how much more magnificent and how much less chaotic it would be if it was governed by an elected mayor instead of an autocratic, unelected Municipal Commissioner. 3) “The ideal subject of totalitarianism... is people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” — Hannah Arendt “At the present time, I long only to sleep and to remain silent. I am sick of humanity.” Albert Camus “Every word has consequences. Every silence, too.” — Jean-Paul Sartre

YouTube - SH

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