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Quote#Self

The idea of the Nation is one of the most powerful anaesthetics that…

Quote byRabindranath Tagore · 1861–1941

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: "Nationalism in the West", 1917. Reprinted in Rabindranath Tagore and Mohit K. Ray, Essays (2007, p. 465). Also cited in Parmanand Parashar, Nationalism: Its Theory and Principles in India (1996, p. 212), and Himani Bannerji, Demography and Democracy: Essays on Nationalism, Gender and Ideology. (201.

English (original)

The idea of the Nation is one of the most powerful anaesthetics that Man has invented. Under the influence of its fumes the whole people can carry out its systematic programme of the most virulent self-seeking without being in the least aware of its moral perversion,-in fact feeling dangerously resentful if it is pointed out.

— Rabindranath Tagore

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