First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
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"[addressing the assembled prisoners as a tribute to Aguilar] Some may think to be remembered in this way. Would be a disgrace to a soldier. But this is not a disgrace. The greatest monuments to fallen men... are not made in marble. They're deep in the sea, deep in the jungles, on foreign battlefields, a rifle driven into the ground with a helmet on top... [clinches fist] and some tags. And that is the tribute that this man has earned. [puts Aguilar's dogtags in the rock] Gentlemen, Corporal Ramon Aguilar, United States Marine Corps. [someone starts singing the Marine Hymn, and everybody soon sings it]"
"Take a look at a castle. Any castle. Now break down the key elements that make it a castle. They haven't changed in a thousand years. 1: Location. A site on high ground that commands the territory as far as the eye can see. 2: Protection. Big walls, walls strong enough to withstand a frontal attack. 3: A garrison. Men who are trained and willing to kill. 4: A flag. You tell your men you are soldiers and that's your flag. You tell them nobody takes our flag. And you raise that flag so it flies high where everyone can see it. Now you've got yourself a castle. The only difference between this castle and all the rest is that they were built to keep people out. This castle is built to keep people in."
"[miffed by BG Wheeler's recent inspection of the complex, decides to read a part of Eugene Irwin's case file before the prisoners] Eugene R. Irwin, Lieutenant General, United States Army, in direct contravention of an order to evacuate Burundi by his commander-in-chief"- That is the president, for those of you who do not know -"selected a platoon of men to extract Jackson Ngwe, a local warlord. Disregarding reliable intelligence, General Irwin's reconnaissance team entered the ville at 0300. Eight men were captured and executed." Disregarding reliable intelligence... eight men were executed. What I want you men to understand is what the consequences can be when you choose to follow a man who is motivated solely by his pride. A man who will do anything for one more victory notch on his belt, no matter what the cost, before he fades away."
"A castle can only have one king."
"No castle can have two kings."
"Robert Redford - Lieutenant-General Eugene R. Irwin"
"James Gandolfini - Colonel Winter"
"Delroy Lindo - Brigadier-General Wheeler"
"Mark Ruffalo - Yates"
"Steve Burton - Captain Peretz"
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.