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A movement inspired by Gandhi’s teachings that aided Tamil refugees displaced by ethnic violence in the lead-up to Sri Lanka’s Civil War. Jegan was a member of the Gandhiyam Movement before fleeing Jaffna for Colombo.
Gandhiyam Movement Quotes in Funny Boy
The Funny Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Gandhiyam Movement or refer to Gandhiyam Movement. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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4. Small Choices
Quotes
“But we are a minority, and that’s a fact of life,” my father said placatingly. “As a Tamil you have to learn how to play the game. Play it right and you can do very well for yourself. The trick is not to make yourself conspicuous. Go around quietly, make your money, and don’t step on anyone’s toes.” […] “It’s good to have ideals, but now you're a man, son.”
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“How do you know he’s innocent?” my father asked. “We can’t be a hundred percent sure.”
“You mean you honestly think he’s guilty?” Amma asked, astonished.
My father was silent. We all stared at him, angry and hurt that he would really believe this.
“Look,” my father eventually said, “the best thing is to get as little involved as possible. If they find out that Jegan is connected to the assassination attempt, we could be accused of harboring a terrorist.”
“Nonsense,” Amma said. “Why would they accuse us?”
“These days, every Tamil is a Tiger until proven otherwise.”
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Gandhiyam Movement Term Timeline in Funny Boy
The timeline below shows where the term Gandhiyam Movement appears in Funny Boy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
4. Small Choices
...from Jaffna, asking his help employing their son Jegan, who had been working with the Gandhiyam movement. She includes a childhood blood pact that Appa signed with her husband, in which...
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Instead, Amma is the one who asks Jegan about the Gandhiyam movement—which resettles Tamils uprooted by the riots—and then flatly asks if they are “connected with...
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Jegan also grows close to Arjie, recounting his time in the Gandhiyam organization and inspiring Arjie to live more purposefully. Over ta drink one night, Appa mentions...
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...he knows about the torture in Jaffna, and Jegan says he knows someone from the Gandhiyam movement who was tortured—and of whom Arjie reminds him. This friend migrated to Canada, while...
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