Gopal Swaminathan

“Sinhala Sri was painted on her back.’ The Sri agitations segued smoothly, tragically into the ethnic riots of 1958.”
― Samanth Subramanian, This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War

“Being a Tamil in the army, he said, was like being a bat. ‘Because the bat is a mammal, he goes and talks to the other mammals, and they say: “No, no, you’re a bird. Get out of here.” Then he goes to the birds, and they say: “No, no, you’re a mammal, you don’t lay eggs.”
― Samanth Subramanian, This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War

“There he had an epiphany. He concluded that the sole purpose of the Iron Curtain was to prevent Soviet citizens knowing what was on the other side, as it would be too much for them to endure.”
― Conor O'Clery, Moscow, December 25, 1991: The Last Day of the Soviet Union

“Night fell suddenly in these parts, like a tent collapsing upon unsuspecting campers.”
― Samanth Subramanian, This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War