--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For we were not always burdened by debt…" description: "\"“For we were not always burdened by debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mohsin-hamid-798_burdens_for-we-were-not-always-burdened-by-debt_2028637.jpg" --- # For we were not always burdened by debt, dependent on… ![“For we were not always burdened by debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitute radicals you see on your television channels but rather saints and poets and — yes — conquering kings. We built the Royal Mosque and the Shalimar…” quote by Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mohsin-hamid-798_burdens_for-we-were-not-always-burdened-by-debt_2028637.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mohsin-hamid-798_burdens_for-we-were-not-always-burdened-by-debt_2028637.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mohsin-hamid-798_burdens_for-we-were-not-always-burdened-by-debt_2028637.jpg) > ““For we were not always burdened by debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitute radicals you see on your television channels but rather saints and poets and — yes — conquering kings. We built the Royal Mosque and the Shalimar Gardens in this city, and we built the Lahore Fort with its mighty walls and wide ramp for our battle-elephants. And we did these things when your country was still a collection of thirteen small colonies, gnawing away at the edge of a continent.”” [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage celebrates a proud, self‑sufficient past, contrasting it with present dependence and negative stereotypes. **In simple terms:** Remember past achievements, not just current struggles. Key Takeaway Honor cultural heritage and seek self‑reliance. Themes history pride colonialism identity Mood proud critical Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - education - policy making - community building - media analysis Key Concepts nationalism postcolonial critique Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can modern societies learn from historic achievements? - How do media narratives shape our view of history? A Different Perspective Romanticizing history can overlook past injustices and complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Built Lahore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built-lahore-3713180/) [Burdens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burdens/) [City Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-built-247880/) [Conquering Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquering-kings-3713182/) [Foreign aid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-aid/) [Kings Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings-built-1575329/) [Lahore Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lahore-fort-3713181/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Kings built tombs more splendid than the houses of the living and counted the names of their descent dearer than the names of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/kings-built-tombs-more-splendid-than-the-houses-of-the-living-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The city is built To music, therefore never built at all, And therefore built forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-city-is-built-to-music-therefore-never-built-at-all-and-therefore/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-spoken-of-the-shining-city-all-my-political-life-but-i-don-t/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“You can be desperate but do not be hasty. No city is built in a day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-okafor/you-can-be-desperate-but-do-not-be-hasty-no-city-is-built-in-a-day/) [Justice Okafor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-okafor/) > [A city should be built to give its inhabitants security and happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-stein/a-city-should-be-built-to-give-its-inhabitants-security-and-happiness/) [Clarence Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-stein/) > [But of course there's no logic to San Francisco generally, a city built with putty and pipe cleaners, rubber cement and colored construction paper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/but-of-course-there-s-no-logic-to-san-francisco-generally-a-city/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Manchester City are built on sand and I don't mean that because their owners are from the Arab countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keegan/manchester-city-are-built-on-sand-and-i-don-t-mean-that-because-their/) [Kevin Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keegan/) > [To fully embark on the whole Phish experience, it's all about going to the city they built beforehand, with the fans and tent city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruce/to-fully-embark-on-the-whole-phish-experience-it-s-all-about-going-to/) [Joseph Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruce/) > [“The city had been built by people from innumerable elsewheres. It was a chaos of cultures ordered only by its long streets. It belonged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-alexis/the-city-had-been-built-by-people-from-innumerable-elsewheres-it-was/) [André Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-alexis/) > [Chicago is a city built on architecture, and there are plenty of buildings to scale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-shaffer/chicago-is-a-city-built-on-architecture-and-there-are-plenty-of/) [Andrew Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-shaffer/) > [“New York is a city built upon the cannibalized remains of its own past, constantly changing, constantly the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/new-york-is-a-city-built-upon-the-cannibalized-remains-of-its-own/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [ He \[Caesar Augustus\] found a city built of brick; he left it built of marble. \[Lat., Urbem lateritiam accepit, mamoream relinquit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suetonius/he-caesar-augustus-found-a-city-built-of-brick-he-left-it-built-of/) [Suetonius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suetonius/) > [New York is celebrated as a leader in our nation's quest for progress because ours is a city built by the labor of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-james/new-york-is-celebrated-as-a-leader-in-our-nation-s-quest-for-progress/) [Letitia James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-james/) > [There is a profound contrast between the effects of foreign aid and of voluntary private investment: foreign aid goes from government to government. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/there-is-a-profound-contrast-between-the-effects-of-foreign-aid-and/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [A nation as such does not give aid to another nation. More precisely, the common citizens of our country, through their taxes, give to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/a-nation-as-such-does-not-give-aid-to-another-nation-more-precisely/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) ## More by Mohsin Hamid > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“I met her eyes, and for the first time I perceived that there was something broken behind them, like a tiny crack in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-met-her-eyes-and-for-the-first-time-i-perceived-that-there-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“muscularity, made more pronounced by her gauntness, and the near-inanimate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/muscularity-made-more-pronounced-by-her-gauntness-and-the-near/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“In this group, everyone was foreign, and so, in a sense, no one was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/in-this-group-everyone-was-foreign-and-so-in-a-sense-no-one-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“It seemed to me then - and to be honest, sir, seems to me still - that America was engaged only in posturing. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/it-seemed-to-me-then-and-to-be-honest-sir-seems-to-me-still-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the uncertain future becomes the past, the past in turn becomes uncertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-uncertain-future-becomes-the-past-the-past-in-turn-becomes/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-machine-of-a-human-being-is-turned-on-it-seems-to-produce-a/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful. Four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-such-comparisons-troubled-me-in/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Americans need to educate themselves, from elementary school onward, about what their country has done abroad. And they need to play a more active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/americans-need-to-educate-themselves-from-elementary-school-onward/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I'm not a representative of Pakistan; I'm just an example that Pakistanis are different from each other. I believe it in my fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-m-not-a-representative-of-pakistan-i-m-just-an-example-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“end of a couple is like a death, and the notion of death, of temporariness, can remind us of the value of things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/end-of-a-couple-is-like-a-death-and-the-notion-of-death-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [NYC doesn't have a big sign saying "You must love diversity and the rights of all people." And that's not what makes you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/nyc-doesn-t-have-a-big-sign-saying-you-must-love-diversity-and-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) [Explore all 361 Mohsin Hamid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More Burdens quotes > [“But surely even heroes weary lugging around the burdens of their heroism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-trumble/but-surely-even-heroes-weary-lugging-around-the-burdens-of-their/) [J.H. Trumble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-trumble/) > [“But, Marcie had reminded herself, I don’t know the weight of anyone else’s burdens—only my own. She didn’t judge. She didn’t feel smart or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/but-marcie-had-reminded-herself-i-don-t-know-the-weight-of-anyone/) [Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/) > [“Don't be too eager to rid yourself of your burdens. Your burdens are what shape you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-scott-savage/don-t-be-too-eager-to-rid-yourself-of-your-burdens-your-burdens-are/) [J. Scott Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-scott-savage/) > [“There are some lives He brings into this world neither to do great work nor to bear great burdens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-b-e-cowman/there-are-some-lives-he-brings-into-this-world-neither-to-do-great/) [L. B. E. Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-b-e-cowman/) > [The federal bureaucracy has grown enormously - and without permission from people's elected representatives. These rules saddle job creators and everyday citizens with heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/the-federal-bureaucracy-has-grown-enormously-and-without-permission/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Much is said about the burdens and responsibilities of married men. Responsibilities indeed there are, if they but felt them: but as to burdens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernestine-rose/much-is-said-about-the-burdens-and-responsibilities-of-married-men/) [Ernestine Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernestine-rose/) > [Even when our burdens are too much to hold, God gives them to us to make us stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-when-our-burdens-are-too-much-to-hold-god-gives-them-to-us-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always thought my main concern is to alleviate the burdens on people, who were earning less money, perhaps than £80,000.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwasi-kwarteng/i-ve-always-thought-my-main-concern-is-to-alleviate-the-burdens-on/) [Kwasi Kwarteng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwasi-kwarteng/) > [In a virtuous government, and more especially in times like these, public offices are what they should be - burdens to those appointed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-a-virtuous-government-and-more-especially-in-times-like-these/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In certain cases, empowering women starts with making their lives easier and removing unnecessary burdens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/in-certain-cases-empowering-women-starts-with-making-their-lives/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/burdens-are-for-shoulders-strong-enough-to-carry-them/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Mythologies become exhausting burdens, from a writer's perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kripke/mythologies-become-exhausting-burdens-from-a-writer-s-perspective/) [Eric Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kripke/) > [“Say No! Accept the burdens of revenge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/say-no-accept-the-burdens-of-revenge/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/unnecessary-possessions-are-unnecessary-burdens/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [“Her stories were going to randomly come out. He had to be man enough to listen to them. It was part of carrying her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-levine/her-stories-were-going-to-randomly-come-out-he-had-to-be-man-enough/) [Elaine Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-levine/) [Browse all 246 Burdens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burdens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For we were not always burdened by debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitute radicals you see on your television channels but rather saints and poets and — yes — conquering kings. We built the Royal Mosque and the Shalimar Gardens in this city, and we built the Lahore Fort with its mighty walls and wide ramp for our battle-elephants. 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