If somebody wants to do an instant noodle study on contemporary Indian politics, Shobhaji's book, Battlefield India - 25 years of Politricks and Economix, is the one to look into, applauds M R Venkatesh, the well-known economic and political commentator.
'The AIADMK will lose a lot of votes simply because it is aligned with the BJP.'
'Even if they align with the TVK now, I don't think the AIADMK leadership will completely surrender to the dominance of Vijay.'
'Even if the war ends tomorrow, which is unlikely, and we go back to the pre-war status quo, the world will still need some time to get over the sudden shock of oil price increases.'
'It is going to be a negative vote against the government rather than a positive vote for the UDF.'
'They will have to adjust themselves to the new reality. Because if they don't understand this changed political perception, their future will be difficult.'
'Remember Vijay had never spoke of himself as a Christian when he was a film star.' 'The BJP strategy is they want the Christian minority constituency to move away from the DMK.' 'That is what the BJP wants so that it will be very easy to mobilise Hindu votes.' 'This strategy is to weaken the Dravidian ideology and bring in religion based politics into Tamil Nadu.'
'It was diminishing even before Trump came to power.' 'The US was at the centre of the global economy. That position is going to become less and less important and less central.'
'There is not a single job role that doesn't require upskilling these days as technology is changing rapidly.'
'The BJP and its allies can decide the fate of many candidates.'
'The AIADMK front comes second, and then the TVK.'
'The reason why they rushed through the bill was they wanted to avoid using the 2026 Census because the 2026 Census by their own decision will be a caste census.' 'The BJP knows that a significant share of the OBCs who will get captured in the census, for the first time after the 1931 Census, are against the BJP. Only a segment of the OBCs are in their favour.' 'So they wanted to avoid the OBC reservation among women, which is a demand of a lot of Opposition parties.'
'When Narendra Modi was here, he spoke only about development and what the BJP wanted to do in Kerala. That kind of sober rhetoric or argument is acceptable to the people here.'
'Secularism or social development or social justice is no longer part of development, according to the youth in Kerala.' 'They are concerned about material wellbeing and material welfare, and they believe that Narendra Modi is capable to giving them that kind of development.' 'So, they don't have any ideological hesitation in voting for him.'
'The BJP is projected as a party that follows Hindu politics, talking about religion, gods and goddess all the time.'
'People of Tamil Nadu are not bothered about religion in politics.' 'That is why Tamil Nadu people do not encourage the BJP.'
'Why can't we work towards a dignified end of the person when a cure is not possible and the end is inevitable?'
'He is not accessible even to his family, his wife or his mother or his father. No one.' 'He has created a barrier so that nobody can go and talk to him.' 'This kind of a mentality is a big question mark in politics.'
'Families go through turmoil at that time. There is a feeling of guilt and uncertainty, and they do not know what they should be doing.' 'Now that the new judgment has clarified what the procedure is, doctors will be confident enough to talk to the families and explain what is to be done.'
'In India, there is this first generation migrant, say from a small village in UP. He didn't go to the Gulf to buy a big house but make the life of his family better.' 'He may have paid 1 lakh rupees to an agent to go to the Gulf. Imagine what will happen to him and his family if he has to come back. He and his family will become poor again.' 'He went to the Gulf to come out of poverty, but this war will make his family trapped in poverty once again.'
'It is too early to conclude that there will be a bloodbath, that there will be no jobs, and that there will be civil unrest.' 'Let's calm down.' 'AI is a tool, it is not a weapon, it is not a virus.'
'People don't believe that a 15-year-old girl subjected to sexual intercourse within a marriage is a victim of rape.'
'When the prime minister and home minister promised their full support for the development of Kerala, why should we not be a part of them?'
'The Kerala of today is not the Kerala of yesterday.' 'What has seeped into this society is the feeling of hatred towards other castes and religions.'
'Recently a girl who was suicidal was brought to me.' 'When I asked her what was bothering her, she said she and her friend took photos at the same place and posted them on Instagram.' 'While her friend got 23 likes, she didn't get a single like.' 'She said, "nobody likes me, nobody wants me in this world. I am rejected by everybody".' 'And she wanted to end her life.'
'We should learn from the wild world on how they live harmoniously.'
'There is a lot of euphoria in the country after a trade agreement is signed. But it is an illusion for us. What is more important is making it real.'
Her mission: Making Mother Earth cleaner and greener!
'Mob fury has become very common these days. And these attacks are all planned very well.' 'In all these attacks, you see that they have a very clear cut plan to make the victims as the oppressors and the guilty.' 'The attackers escape and they face no consequences as they have the backing of some political leaders.'
'In three years, you will have an AI model that will be smarter than the smartest mathematician or the smartest scientist.'
'Trump says India will buy over $500 billion of US goods.' 'At present, India's annual imports of goods and energy from the US are under $50 billion.' 'Reaching $500 billion would likely require more than 20 years, suggesting the figure refers to a long-term aspiration rather than a near-term commitment.'
'A work guarantee that can be switched off at will is no guarantee at all.'
'There are new job roles that are emerging because of AI.'
'I was embarrassed that I was learning a martial art form at 55. I thought what will people say? I kept it a secret even from my husband.'
'His report created a lot of negative reaction in Kerala and in a way, he was crucified for writing such a report.' 'I asked him, "Don't you feel frustrated?"' 'His reply was, "Have you read Bhagavad Gita Chapter2"?' 'He particularly mentioned verse 47, where Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, "Your duty is to work without thinking of the fruits you get".' "He said, "similarly, my duty was to do what best I could do without hoping for any rewards".'
'When AI comes in, coders in Bangalore or Hyderabad will lose their jobs.'
'If at all human beings require a religion, the future religion will be Hinduism.'
'More and more people from the middle class will become self-employed gig workers mostly working from home, rather than as office workers with salary, promotion, bonuses, etc.'
'It was very clear in the Parliament election that there was an erosion of Hindu votes in southern Kerala from the CPI-M to the BJP.'
'Age is not an issue if you are chasing your dream. If you have support from your family, you can achieve anything.'
'Instead of one or two families controlling 10% to 15% of GDP, it has to be broad based. Then, the resilience of the economy also will be higher.' 'Then, if something happens to one business, it will not hurt the economy badly.'
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