'His last journey was like putting out the lamps one by one in a temple at night.' 'It was like the soul slowly walking away from the body; it was so pure and peaceful...'
'I am optimistic about the Budget because of the fiscal discipline the government has committed to.'
'You need hard work along with talent to reach exceptional heights.'
'It is the responsibility of industry to take the very bright talent whose knowledge of software engineering basics is very high, and then give them additional skills.'
'To access our satellite, you don't need any IQ test, you don't need to write an examination.' 'You can be a Class 1 student, an engineering student, a 60-year-old person, anybody can access our satellite.'
'There are only two bottlenecks for universal vaccination.' 'One, is availability of the vaccine.' 'Two, is the logistics for administering the vaccine.'
'Today when I see them talking to people from different countries confidently, I realise that education does not come from classrooms alone but from life experiences too.'
'Kamala likes south Indian food.' 'She likes a special rasam which her husband also likes, she likes coconut rice, she likes puri aloo...'
'Don't get stressed if you are not able to do your work.' 'If you feel you do not have the skill or capacity to do some work, accept it.'
'Healthcare is not an industry.' 'The government is only encouraging insurance as they are not able to provide healthcare to people.' 'Opening new medical colleges is not what is needed.' 'You have to invest in public sector hospitals.' 'You cannot hand over healthcare to the private industry.'
'To attribute motives to the individual election commissioner or the Election Commission as a group is very unfair.'
'Everything about farming is enjoyable and relaxing.'
'It has changed the political character of India by ejecting socialism as an ideology from the Constitution of India.'
'We started AgniKul to show that space transportation should be as simple as road transportation.'
'It was specifically mentioned in the Gadgil Committee report that this particular area where the colossal landside happened now should be in the Environmentally Sensitive Area under Zone 1.' 'Zone 1 is the most important and ecologically sensitive area, and that it has to be protected entirely.' 'At least 90% of the Wayanad disaster is man-made.'
The 1994 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) espionage case, in which former space scientist Nambi Narayanan was falsely implicated, was allegedly created by a then special branch officer of Kerala police to justify his illegal detention of a Maldivian woman in India after she spurned his advances, the Central Bureau of Investigation has told a court in Thiruvananthapuram.
'Over the next 20 years, we would be adding almost 10 million people to the workforce every year!' 'And we won't be able to give employment to even 2 million out of the 10 million every year.' 'Don't forget, it keeps adding every year.'
'Those who hope for a strong united Opposition are disillusioned at the way in which the INDIA alliance has already been caught in debilitating squabbles.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
'it's not just youth in India who are left behind because of their inability to find jobs; nearly two-thirds of Indian women of working ages do not participate at all in the paid labour force.'
'Another term for the government under the prime minister would likely be a step forward on the path to Hindu Rashtra.' 'No question of going back or any slowing down.'
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
'The response from the government using words like malicious, deliberate, etc is diverting from the real issue.' 'The indicators related to young children such as stunting or child mortality are a reflection of the social development in the country.' 'That's how we have to look at it and not ignore the issue by denying the data.'
'All those who participated in the agitation were branded as anti-nationals.'
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
'It is violation of the Model Code of Conduct.' 'It is a penal offence under the IPC to exert undue influence on voters.' 'Under the election law, it is a corrupt practice.'
'In spite of all the sermonising from the political class, when they come in public, the ministers don't follow their own rules.' 'They don't mask.' 'If you look at the West Bengal election campaigning, if you look at the Assam election campaigning or if you look at Kerala election campaigning, they are not setting an example.'
'Our study finds that only about 20% of Indians are vegetarians and the rest of the 80% are non-vegetarians or meat-eaters.'
'Keeping the global temperature below not just 1.5 degree Celsius, even 2 degree Celsius is beyond our reach now. Both are impossible.'
'What the government should do is to use the vaccine judiciously, not just to prevent a third wave alone, but to stop the number of deaths happening in the interim.'
'The planning and implementation has gone horribly wrong.' 'What they are doing is in effect, establishing a large cheetah zoo.'
'In India those who want change cannot bring about change, and those who can bring about change do not want change.'
'The controversy created by a Gujarat minister was totally unnecessary and unwanted.' 'It is a disgrace that a person who happened to be Gujarat's finance minister, spoke this kind of rubbish.'
'Without a poverty line, how are we to know whether poverty is the same, or it has come down or it has gone up?'
'The space required for wild cheetah populations to thrive was grossly under-estimated.' 'Cheetahs, because of their social system and ecologically fragile nature, live at only 1 cheetah per 100 sq kms even in the best habitats of Africa.'
'I feel she has some mental disorder. Or, it was an act of pure revenge.'
'How come the BJP won even in the Muslim belt? I am 100% sure that the BJP would not win in the Muslim belt.'
'I wonder how people who come to power through democratic means turn out this way.' 'But people of India are strong, and those who think they can hoodwink people, are mistaken.' 'You can fool some people for some time, but not all people, all the time.'
'Bharat is a name that is 7000 years old.' 'We are not saying the name of the country should be changed from India to Bharat; we only recommended that the stress should be on Bharat.'
'Does anyone understand India?' 'Does anyone have a larger perspective for India as a whole?' 'Today we have rulers who do not understand the ruled.'
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