Aakar Patel is a writer and columnist. You can e-mail the author at aakar.patel@gmail.com
'There are no multiplexes, not a single cinema hall and no malls.' 'Because the government in Delhi constantly cuts off mobile services, there is no app-based economy in Srinagar.' 'There are 403 news channels in India, but there is none in Kashmir,' notes Aakar Patel after a journey to the Kashmir valley.
'Azim Premji has given away about one-and-a-half lakh crore rupees of his wealth.' 'Most of us will not even know what that sum actually means.' 'To put it into context, it can fund India's health budget and education budget,' points out Aakar Patel.
'Modi personally provides the higher direction of the ministry and the minister then works with bureaucrats on implementation,' points out Aakar Patel.
Nobody understands the deep causes of defeat and victory better than the defeated. The defeated have been to all the battlefields. They have looked into the eyes of their soldiers and those of the opponents, says Aakar Patel.
'I do not think it's possible for the winners and losers to shake hands and go back to regular business at the end of this.' 'It seems visceral, personal and nasty at a depth we have not plumbed before,' says Aakar Patel.
'There will be millions of us who will feel fear and insecurity because of the menace of majoritarian ideology.' 'It is for the wellbeing and security of those of my fellow Indians, who are affected and who I care for, that I have voted,' says Aakar Patel.
'It is only because of the Congress that we became a secular republic.' 'As we enter a period where another political force has became dominant, it will be interesting to see if this legacy of Nehru and the Congress is sustained or we are taken in a new direction,' says Aakar Patel.
2019 will be 'a match between the old caste politics and something new which we have not fully understood in UP,' says Aakar Patel.
'One goal of the Congress would surely have been to rebuild its organisation so that it begins to match that of the BJP.' 'However, this has not happened, though Rahul Gandhi has been in the party for 15 years now,' says Aakar Patel.
'The narrative that is the ruling party is using on Pulwama is not productive.' 'I do not think Modi and the BJP will get more votes because of that incident and the response to it,' says Aakar Patel.
'One hopes that in his second term, Modi spends more time reading serious material even if it bores him or is against his nature,' says Aakar Patel.
'What aspect of the air strikes would make it possible for a voter to change her mind?' asks Aakar Patel.
'When he has been retired against his will, Advani appears to have found the merits of tolerance.' 'It took his one-time pupil to teach the old man his own lesson,' says Aakar Patel.
'A full majority might please the stock market for a couple of days, but the damage it usually does over five years is too high a price to pay,' argues Aakar
'We would do well to encourage all Indians to participate in democracy by contesting and laws that prevent or deter individuals and parties should be relooked at,' says Aakar Patel.
'The sentiment against immigrants and particularly against Muslims is produced by the climate of hatred and bigotry we see all around us.' 'It is produced by the politics of division and spread by a reckless media around the world including unfortunately in India,' says Aakar Patel.
'India is a strange place.' 'On the one hand we have the most advanced science working on our origins and our ancestry.' 'On the other we are at war with ourselves over a temple to a god whom our first ancestors knew nothing of,' says Aakar Patel.
'The intensity with which we are focussed on Pakistan, particularly our government and our media, ultimately harms us and reduces our greatness,' argues Aakar Patel.
'Random displays of anger will end in punishment from the IOC and the loss of points in the World Cup, without achieving what we seek,' says Aakar Patel.
'The fact that a rural Kashmiri boy was brainwashed into killing himself and others means there is an active programme that exists which does such recruiting and there will potentially be other such individuals out there,' warns Aakar Patel.
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