"...despite all this, it is still hard to admit that there is no one more English than the Indian, no one more Indian than the English. There are still young white men who are angry about that; who will roll out at closing time into the poorly lit streets with a kitchen knife wrapped in a tight fist. But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts, compared to what the immigrant fears - dissolution, disappearance."

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Source: Zadie Smith (2003). “White Teeth”, p.272, Vintage

About the author

Zadie Smith

Novelist, Essayist

Zadie Smith is a British novelist known for her exploration of race, identity, and multiculturalism in works like 'White Teeth'.

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