'Doctors feel they have a duty to prolong a heartbeat at all costs.' 'And a son or a daughter feels, I can't let my mum die. I have to save her at all costs.' 'They think saving is just prolonging life. But the person suffers.'
'Why should children, who are already burdened with so many subjects, be over-burdened with three languages?'
'The southern states will have no voice.' 'Political parties in future need to focus only on one region, the northern region, to win the general election.'
'A man who brought about the greatest set of economic reforms in the country, who changed the course of Indian history, cannot be considered weak.' 'A man who fought for nuclear reforms even though his majority in Parliament was threatened, he cannot be considered weak.'
'The global climate system doesn't look at where the carbon dioxide is coming from. 'It may be emitted by the US, but it will not remain above the US alone but covers the whole world.'
'The vast majority of BJP supporters in Tamil Nadu can't speak any language other than Tamil.' 'When rural Tamil Nadu can't speak any other language than Tamil, how are they going to convince them that they have to learn Hindi?'
'The earlier a child is given a smartphone, the worst it becomes when they are 17, 18.' 'Every year you delay in giving a smartphone to child, the outcome becomes better.' 'The behavioural changes that are very specific to smartphones are aggression and anger.'
'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 tell young entrepreneurs if you don't have a great idea, if you don't have a good business model, don't think of a start-up.'
This is the story of a man who fought racism and casteism throughout his life to become a professor of Bharata Natyam at the premier centre for performing arts in India, the Kerala Kalamandalam.
'There are only two bottlenecks for universal vaccination.' 'One, is availability of the vaccine.' 'Two, is the logistics for administering the vaccine.'
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
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.
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'All those who participated in the agitation were branded as anti-nationals.'
'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.'
'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.'
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
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