Arundati Roy Quotes

War crimes, you say?

No matter how many policies you put on paper, in reality, there are no rights and wrongs in war. War itself is a crime. War cannot be justified.

I believe, the only people, in this world, whose opinions matter, are the ones who go the extra mile to help other people expecting nothing in return.

Soldiers who fight fiercely for their country, the doctors in Sri Lanka's public hospitals attending to hundreds of patients at a time for no extra pay , the nuns who voluntarily teach English and math to children of refugee camps in the north, the monks who collect food to feed entire villages during crises, they are the people worth listening to, their opinion matters.

So find me one of them who will say: they wish the war didn't end in 2009, that they wish Sri Lanka was divided into two parts. Find me one of them who agrees with the international war crime allegations against Sri Lanka, and I will listen.

But I will not listen to the opinions of those who are paid to find faults in a war they were never a part of, a war they never experienced themselves. I will not listen to the opinions of those who watched the war on tv or read about it on the internet or were moved by a documentary on Al Jazeera.

The war is over. The damage is done. Let Sri Lanka move on. So our children will never have to see what we've seen. ~ Thisuri Wanniarachchi

If anyone has read a lot of books and thinks I am primitive because I have not read even one, then he should throw away those books and get one which says we are all brothers and sisters under God and we too have a right to live. ~ Roy Sesana

Life was a swirl of mysteries, each one waiting to be plucked up and explored, but not necessarily solved. As the weight of responsibility bore down on a person, it could feel like a long list of chores leading up to the final one - figuring out how to die with dignity. But Quincy's interpretation of his surroundings seemed a truer representation of life's meaning, or rather, the lack of meaning other than to dazzle and delight and befuddle from cradle to grave. ~ Roy L. Pickering Jr.

She says you should never wake dreaming people suddenly,' Rahel said. 'She says they could easily have a Heart Attack.'

Between them they decided it would be best to disturb her discreetly rather than wake her suddenly. So they opened drawers, they cleared their throats, they whispered loudly, they hummed a little tune. They moved shoes. And found a cupboard door that creaked.

Ammu, resting under the skin of her dream, observed them and ached with her love for them....

...'If you're happy in a dream, Ammu, does that count' Estha asked,
'Does what count?'
'The happiness--does it count?'
She knew exactly what he meant...
...Because the truth is, that only what counts counts. The simple, unswerving wisdom of children. ~ Arundhati Roy

my friend Ronald. He's a hunstman who lives in my letterbox. ~ James Roy

We can do better in higher education. And it is more than just technology. It's also an attitude on the part of faculty. We need to think through how we can produce a better quality product at less cost. ~ Roy Romer

From now on it is not dying we must fear, but living. ~ Arundhati Roy

A visual image in the hand of an artist is merely a tool to trigger a mental image. ~ Roy H. Williams

My work isn't about form. It's about seeing. I'm excited about seeing things, and I'm interested in the way I think other people see things. ~ Roy Lichtenstein

Cultivate the habit of setting clearly-defined written goals; they are the road maps that guide you to your destination. ~ Roy Bennett

When she listened to songs that she loved on the radio, something stirred inside her. A liquid ache spread under her skin, and she walked out of the world like a witch. ~ Arundhati Roy

Medal of Honor One Man's Journey from Poverty and Prejudice ~ Roy P. Benavidez

The state's case against Smith, however, did claim to speak to his actual guilt or innocence, and it has to be considered carefully. The reason this is important has nothing to do with Roy Smith or Bessie Goldberg or even Al DeSalvo; they're all dead. In some ways there is nothing less relevant than an old murder case. The reason it is important is this: Here is a group of people who have gathered to judge--and possibly execute--a fellow citizen. It's the highest calling there is, the very thing that separates us from social anarchy, and it has to be done well. A trial, however, is just a microcosm of the entire political system. When a democratic government decides to raise taxes or wage war or write child safety laws, it is essentially saying to an enormous jury, "This is our theory of how the world works, and this is our proposal for dealing with it. If our theory makes sense to you, vote for us in the next election. If it doesn't, throw us out." The ability of citizens to scrutinize the theories insisted on by their government is their only protection against abuse of power and, ultimately, against tyranny. If ordinary citizens can't coolly and rationally evaluate a prosecutor's summation in a criminal trial, they won't have a chance at calling to task a deceitful government. And all governments are deceitful--they're deceitful because it's easier than being honest. Most of the time, it's no more sinister than that. ~ Sebastian Junger

Before you go to sleep, do not forget to say thanks for everything good that has happened to you in the last 24 hours. ~ Roy Orbison

I look at the plaque, commemorating a man who stepped accidentally into history with his one published book, and I say: 'But some day, I'll write my own.' And ~ Nilanjana Roy

The best ads are about the customer and how the product will change his life. ~ Roy H. Williams

To help cement the friendship between Japan and Disney, Emperor Hirohito personally presented to Roy O. Disney, for the dedication of the Magic Kingdom, a stone Japanese lantern known as a Toro to light the way to success and happiness. ~ Jim Korkis

On occasion he would think back to the fiercest passion it had been his pleasure to experience and reflect on what might have been. He would look upon the woman who occupied the opposite half of his bed and feel his life had not quite lived up to the promise of another day. These moments would be mercifully brief, or so he hoped. ~ Roy L. Pickering Jr.

Liverpool without European football is like a banquet without wine. ~ Roy Evans

A polarizing mission statement forces the reader to choose between two sides of a line drawn in the sand. Rare is the business owner who has the courage to craft such a statement. ~ Roy H. Williams

I love a good Roy Rogers or Shirley Temple, and I had to give those up. And Philly cheesesteaks. I love Philly cheesesteaks, and now they really aren't around anymore. ~ Ron Funches

A decent cowboy does not take what belongs to someone else and if he does he deserves to be strung up and left for the flies and coyotes ~ Roy Bean

Well, the question is, what do you want to believe? Do you want to live in a world where things are possible, or in one where they aren't? Cin, Edges. ~ Lena Roy

It didn't matter that the story had begun, because kathakali discovered long ago that the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don't deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don't surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover's skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don't. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won't. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn't. And yet you want to know again. ~ Arundhati Roy

Roy writes: When you no longer need to feign an identity that isn't yours, you'll discover confidence and the ability to say, "This is who I am," and speak out on any issue that stirs your heart and mind. By announcing your presence, others will come out to you who you didn't previously know shared your nontheism. You'll finally be able to meet other nontheists and build relationships based on truth and honesty. You can love and be loved by people who know the real you. No matter what you've been told, that person deserves to see the light of day. ~ Roy Speckhardt

Comedians love people to point and laugh at them, naturists don't. ~ Roy Station

I'm an amalgam of the 19th-century romantics and the beat poets. ~ Roy Harper

Ammu quickly learned to recognize and despise the ugly face of sympathy. They ... gloated. She fought off the urge to slap them. ~ Arundhati Roy

On 'Arrow,' we have Ray Palmer and Roy Harper, and if you call Roy 'Ray' and Ray 'Roy,' you have to put money into the jar. ~ Marc Guggenheim

There's one." Roy reached over and pounded Bert in the leg. "Slug bug black, no hit backs." "Where?" "Right there." "That's a BMW." Bert smacked Roy twice. "Wrong car, double hit backs." "Can you guys quit this, please?" Tom looked ahead in the distance. "Oh God, no." "Here it is." The cabbie pointed to his right. "Largest Volkswagen dealership in Los Angeles." It was ugly. Real ugly. When ~ J.A. Konrath

Character depends on characters. Few people are character. Other's should try to opt one but they don't, they lose. ~ Vikram Roy

No matter how difficult the challenge, when we spread our wings of faith and allow the winds of God's spirit to lift us, no obstacle is too great to overcome. ~ Roy Lessin

Roy Schneider was cool. I learned quite a bit from him. ~ Jonathan Brandis

As for the third Official Reason: exposing Western Hypocrisy - how much more exposed can they be? Which decent human being on earth harbors any illusions about it? These are people whose histories are spongy with the blood of others. Colonialism, apartheid, slavery, ethnic cleansing, germ warfare, chemical weapons - they virtually invented it all. ~ Arundhati Roy

So far he's never been bit, but there was once, deer hunt, climbing a bluff and he'd slipped, rolled down a shale slide into some kind of grotto and the whole place started buzzing. Big rattlesnake nest, twenty or so, all small but they'll kill you just the same and he'd scrambled and cranked round after round through the bolt, felt a hot white pain in his leg, dropped the gun and jumped. Once he was out of it he pulled down his pants, found the bite but it wasn't a bite, just the one hole and too big, something lodged under the skin. He cut at it for a time. Piece of copper jacket from one of his own bullets, turned out. Stood there, sun in his eyes, blood on his hands, pants full of blood and bunched at his ankles, happy as he'd been in a while.
- "Any Deadly Thing ~ Roy Kesey

In Georgia it's a little different because of the East Cobb program. It's such a strong program that we see a lot of kids that come through here on a lot of different teams from across the country that come here to play in tournaments. ~ Roy Clark

The greatest thing the Democrats have ever done for me was to defeat me for the governor of Tennessee. ~ Roy Acuff

Roy G. Biv to remember the colors and she made up a rhyme: A rainbow is named Roy G. Biv To remember the colors and the joy they give. ~ Glenn Beck

We will never forget those like my great-grandfather who fought at Vicksburg. ~ Roy Barnes

When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier. ~ Roy E. Disney

The traffic inside her head seemed to have stopped believing in traffic lights. The result was incessant noise, a few bad crashes and eventually gridlock. ~ Arundhati Roy

I am often asked: "What are Southern women like?" That is a question that many people feel entitled to an answer to. But I cannot speak with authority - not with authority as it is known in the South - about Southern women. I am acquainted with no more than two-thirds of them, and several of those I haven't seen in some time. ~ Roy Blount, Jr.

I always enjoy the battle sequences. It's like going to the playground. ~ Drew Roy

You can't die, Roy."
"Why?"
"I've got a pretty good feeling I'm going to need one kick-ass lawyer, and you're the only one I know. ~ David Baldacci

Absolutely the worst thing about this job is the travel and being away from family. I have a wife and three wonderful children, the kids are all active in sports and it's very difficult to up and leave and miss them growing up. ~ Roy Clark

I think the kind of landscape that you grew up in, it lives with you. I don't think it's true of people who've grown up in cities so much; you may love a building, but I don't think that you can love it in the way that you love a tree or a river or the colour of the earth; it's a different kind of love. ~ Arundhati Roy

Need was a warehouse that could accommodate a considerable amount of cruelty. ~ Arundhati Roy

I have nothing against romance. I believe that we must hold on to the right to dream and to be romantic. But an Indian village is not something that I would romanticize that easily. ~ Arundhati Roy

The Labour Party can go into the next election united behind the most radical manifesto on which we have ever campaigned. ~ Roy Hattersley

In my opinion, visual effects are great when it compliments a good story, and action is great when it compliments a good story, but just to have them for the sake of having them, it gets a little boring, especially if you're talking a TV series. At least with a movie that's an hour and a half to two hours, you see it and you're impressed, and then you're out. With a series, if it's only that, week after week after week, there's nothing there to bring you back. You have to get invested in the characters and care about them and want to follow them. ~ Drew Roy