'Space is dangerous and there will be many failed attempts as we try to use mankind's ingenuity to take the next evolutionary step.'
'As a nation we are tearing ourselves apart through decisions we have deliberately chosen to take,' argues Aakar Patel.
'Blocking Parliament brings attention to a party that has poor speakers like Rahul Gandhi. It is unlikely to shine in debates, assuming we were a nation that enjoyed listening to sparkling intellectual exchange, which we are not.'
'What Jaishankar says is simplistic.' 'The past does not matter that much.' 'If we think that it does it is because we are not good enough at running the nation competently today and are searching for excuses why,' argues Aakar Patel.
'The major reason is the reluctance of the Indian citizen, particularly in the middle class, to pay his dues. Only around three per cent of Indians pay any income tax and these are mostly those who are employed, and whose taxes are deducted. I often refer to us as a nation of thieves, who steal from our government,' says Aakar Patel.
'There is no meritocracy or at least there is none that is visible and transparent.' 'The Congress has two opportunities to change this,' says Aakar Patel.
'We can make all the noise we want to about being a tolerant society, but the reality is in front of us.'
'He spoke about 20 jawans in Ladakh, but he couldn't even name China.' 'He said the world had seen what had been achieved, even though we Indians don't know because Modi has himself said that nothing had happened and nobody had come,' points out Aakar Patel.
'If Indians are as smart as their counterparts in university, and have equal opportunity, then what is the reason that we cannot produce inventions of quality that are recognised by the world?'
'In Pakistan there has been no problem about the installation of the statues of these men, unlike the Jinnah portrait or other controversies that seem to be present in India these days quite regularly,' says Aakar Patel.
Why are the protesters still on their own and why are political parties abstaining from joining this mass movement? Aakar Patel explains.
Parvez was arrested on September 16 and placed in administrative detention in a jail in Kupwara for allegedly posing an imminent threat of breach of peace.
The vanity project, of absolutely no use to most Indians, will suck money that could be used for health and education, says Aakar Patel.
'This is a negative campaign, of slurs and fears.' 'The BJP has no desire to fight a positive campaign as it did in 2014, on the issue of governance and achche din.' 'Where the BJP can use these tactics, it will,' says Aakar Patel.
'The individuals whom this government and its media call 'Urban Naxals' should not have been arrested.' 'In any civilised democracy (which India is not) this would not have happened,' argues 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.
It is going to be a rough and brutal 2020 for India as its government pushes on with its ideological agenda, and the citizens do whatever they can to protect themselves, notes 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.
'The north east does not want the solution that the BJP has given and it has become clear that it has not been fully thought through,' says Aakar Patel.
'We have done majoritarianism through other means.' 'The Citizenship Amendment Act, read together with the National Register of Citizens, will prove what I mean,' notes Aakar Patel.
'India has a conviction rate of about 25% for serious crimes. This means that 75% of the time the police probably get the wrong suspect, and this makes murdering them in an encounter more morally problematic for the officers concerned.' says Aakar Patel.
'Modi has not taken India into confidence over what is happening and what has happened.' 'We have not even officially been told what the position is with respect to the land lost between Fingers 4 to 8,' observes Aakar Patel.
'We in the Anglicised middle class are unconcerned about the vast majority of Indians. We insist on only our concerns and anxieties being debated. All other Indians are irrelevant,' says Aakar Patel.
'The Modi government did not deny it had acquired the NSO platform, and did not deny it was spying on its citizens by hacking into their phones,' says Aakar Patel.
'The facts have become unimportant and useless.' 'What is important is the constantly shouting of patriotism even as one undermines the interests of the people.' 'And the abusing of rivals as being traitors,' says Aakar Patel.
'Even for those of us who are not driven or hardworking, life will be much more interesting and vastly different from the way life is today,' says Aakar Patel.
'We are in the presence of a truly great politician,' says 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.
'Once the prime minister and the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Haryana pushed for this in 2014 and 2015, we have been trapped in a cycle of violence that gives India a bad name around the world,' says Aakar Patel.
India is going into the longest lockdown in the world, with the least amount of notice given to its people and the least preparation by its government.
'Sooner or later Modi will be forced to look at the broad cultural thrust of Hindutva and assess whether it is helping his development agenda and the image of India,' says Aakar Patel.
'My speculation is that the BCCI believes that it is dangerous for credible insiders to stay outside its area of influence. It wants people like these three cricketers inside the tent rather than outside it,' says Aakar Patel.
'The government should refrain from 'adventurism' and 'megalomania'.' 'But this should be true of reckless government action against every Indian, whether or not they are wealthy or have access to the finance minister even when he is in hospital,' says Aakar Patel.
'The goal is achievable. What is stopping us from getting there?' asks Aakar Patel.
The answer cannot be that we will beat the disease at the end of the 21 days. And the answer cannot be that it is to halt the spread because the spread is going to happen anyway, notes Aakar Patel.
'We have not been able to use the potential of our location in the region and the world and our strength as a nation and an economy to establish an EU-like structure in South Asia,' points out Aakar Patel.
To understand Modi, listen to what he does not say -- vide NRC, suggests Prem Panicker.
'We have had 27 years of liberalisation and in the same period Korea and Japan and China transformed themselves forever,' says Aakar Patel.
'I have no doubt that the government means well.' 'I am merely curious to know whether my suspicions of it being enthusiastic about shooting first and aiming later are unfounded,' says Aakar Patel.
ially powerful ones, usually find themselves surrounded by people who will not oppose them. 'This is because those who are cautious and of a different view will not find satisfaction serving an individual so different from them, producing results they do not agree with,' says Aakar Patel.
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