First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"The Forbidden City had become a theater without an audience. So, why did the actors remain on the stage?"
"This isn't a school; it's a prison. A real prison."
"After a few years, the tiny republic had become as corrupt as the old Empire. It fell quickly into the hands of ambitious generals and corrupt bureaucrats."
"Anything Western was good. Especially Wrigley's chewing gum, Bayer aspirin, and cars."
"The Americans believe everyone is born good. You must be judged."
"Your salvation will lie entirely in the attitude you take!"
"The Emperor has been a prisoner in his own palace since the day that he was crowned, and has remained a prisoner since he abdicated. But now he's growing up, he may wonder why he's the only person in China who may not walk out of his own front door. I think the Emperor is the loneliest boy on Earth."
"John Lone as Puyi (adult)"
"Joan Chen as Wanrong"
"Peter O'Toole as Reginald Johnston"
"Ying Ruocheng as Jin Yuan, the Detention Camp Governor"
"Victor Wong as Chen Baochen"
"Dennis Dun as Big Li"
"Ryuichi Sakamoto as Masahiko Amakasu"
"Maggie Han as Eastern Jewel (Yoshiko Kawashima)"
"Ric Young as the Camp Interrogator"
"Vivian Wu as Wenxiu"
"Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Chang"
"Jade Go as Ar Mo"
"Fumihiko Ikeda as Colonel Yoshioka"
"Fan Guang as Pujie (adult), Puyi's younger brother"
"Lisa Lu as Empress Dowager Cixi"
"Basil Pao as Prince Chun, Puyi's father."
"Dong Liang as Lady Consort Chun, Puyi's mother."
"Henry O as the Lord Chamberlain"
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.