'Many enter the civil services with the desire to do good work but get beaten by the system, step back or become part of it.' 'Ten fantastic officers out of 100 can completely change the game.'
'Different people resonated with different films of his, but beneath all of that was his unique ability to capture the human spirit in an intimate and honest way.'
'Every bit of the parade is important. Everything that is being executed, you have to be completely in it,' says Captain Tania Shergill, the first woman adjutant at a Republic Day parade.
'Kerala voters vote from their mind rather than their heart.'
'In this election, the only thing that is going to matter is which caste aligns with which coalition.'
After spending 40 years in the Indian Army, Lieutenant General Subrata Saha marches into the electoral battlefield as the BJP candidate from Rashbehari.
'Tamil Nadu is a paradox. We have more places of Hindu worship per square kilometres than any other place in the world. 'We break more coconuts for religious reasons everyday than any other place in the world.' 'At the same time, we also have a very strong Periyar-infused movement of rationalism.'
'An officer had to command the regiment for the Republic Day parade -- and that officer happened to me.' 'It should not be viewed on the basis of gender,' says Captain Preeti Choudhary, the only woman officer to from the Indian Army to be part of a contingent at the Republic Day Parade 2021.
Hercules Singh Munda's father used to open the gates to a forest. Today, Hercules leaves for London to open the gates of his many dreams.
'After the Congress's 2014 Lok Sabha debacle, commentators identified three major shortcomings: Leadership, organisation, and ideology.' 'Here we are six years later -- and what are the Congress's major failings? Leadership, organisation, and ideology.' 'The party seems to have learned very little during its six years in the Opposition wilderness.'
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
'When you look at the border -- from Ladakh to Arunachal -- which is called the Sino-Indian border, but in effect it is actually the Indo-Tibet border.' 'Since the borders are still not secure, it has resulted in transgressions in Galwan, Dokalam etc.'
'He is not looking at the interest of farmers. He only wants to do the politics of elections.' 'This Budget is for the new super India. It is exploiting the villages of Bharat.'
'The BJP and RSS accept that the party is winning election after election because of Modi.' 'If the BJP is winning due to Modi, it will also lose due to Modi.'
'The Afghans used to say that if there is any person whose name should be taken after Allah, it is Hindustani.'
An army of government staff all over India conduct the world's greatest democratic exercise. Archana Masih/Rediff.com glimpses how they do it in the pivotal Saran constituency in North Bihar.
'Galwan has turned everything.' 'The casualties on both sides alerted the Chinese to the fact that Indians are not going to take it lying down.'
'Having tied himself in knots, he just might take a decision which is dangerous, one that could take his nation to war.'
'We may think that in our border quarrel, the Chinese can give up a bit of territory here or there to satisfy us, but that's not how they see it.' 'Arunachal Pradesh is 90,000 square kilometres and twice the size of Taiwan.' 'The Chinese can't be seen to be asserting their rights to Taiwan and on the other hand, cheaply giving up Arunachal Pradesh.'
'India is not going to accept whatever the Chinese say. That is not going to happen.'
'In normal procedure, policemen wear helmets to protect ourselves from lathi, sticks, poles, bamboos of a rampaging mob - but how do we protect ourselves from bullets?'
'It was a privilege to work for the country.'
'Raman Singh will certainly be defeated by the alliance we have created," says Chhattisgarh's first chief minister Ajit Jogi.
'The worst case scenario for Pakistan is a full-scale Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.' 'Pakistani militants would be inspired and emboldened and seek to replicate the Taliban's successes in Pakistan.'
'Dr Abdullah is fine and in good spirits,' says National Conference Lok Sabha MP Mohammad Akbar Lone.
'I set out really early because it gets very hot.' 'The soles of my feet burn by the time I have finished going house to house on foot.'
'The government can do many things to improve the situation in Kashmir.'
'Safest' looks like a phone booth, but is a state-of-the-art mobile COVID-19 testing lab.
'We must acknowledge China will use Pakistan against India.' 'We all need to know that these two countries are ready to destabilise India at all times.'
The Grand Old Lady of Yoga V Nanammal was the oldest recipient of the Padma Shri on Republic Day this year. Archana Masih met the nearly 100 year old yoga guru who does not wear glasses, has never been to a doctor and can do age defying twists, hauls and bends.
'Mohan Bhagwat is very upfront with his views and arguments.' 'Mohan Bhagwat is competent to deal with Modi's personality cult.'
'You don't want to harm the satellites of other countries, but you also don't want your own satellite to be harmed.'
'They are aware that they have been unable to bring about any change in the security situation in Kashmir and have failed to internationalise the Kashmir issue.'
'Times will be tough, but we will get by and by the grace of Lord Balaji.'
'I am ashamed we are dealing with such adversaries.'
'They will try more rounds of military level talks and move it to the diplomatic and political domain to see if there is a possibility of a solution -- and like the CDS said if that does not happen, we are prepared.'
'After the water receded, the house was full of mud.' 'The furniture, television, the workshop, car -- everything is destroyed.'
Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, 21, received the Mahavir Chakra in the 1962 War with China. Such was his valour that a temple and museum stands on the land he died defending in the icy valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
'If you behave like a nail, the adversary will behave like a hammer.'
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