'We waded through the wet mud into the school, and what we saw were dead bodies strewn all over.' 'We could also see parts of human bodies buried under the wet mud.' 'It was a sight I will never forget in my life. Total devastation everywhere.'
'The Railways decided to go for kavach three years back, but the progress has been very slow.'
'To those who have just finished engineering or MCA or BSc, BBA, I will say they should take up whatever internship opportunities they are getting.' 'They should look for opportunities to learn the latest tools.' 'They should think innovative and try to solve problems. Only when you sharpen your skills, you will remain relevant.'
'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.'
'They think quick fixes like internship in the private sector will help. 'In fact, internships have been going on for the last one decade.' 'In 2014-2015 itself, we had a ministry of skill development. None of the programmes have yielded results, still they are continuing with such schemes under some other name.' 'We don't see any seriousness on the part of the government to attack the problem of unemployment.'
'The government should come back as a job creator as it did in the 1960s and the 1970s.'
'Samsung declared they would not allow the presence of any trade union.' 'This is unacceptable as the rule of law in India permits employees to have a trade union.' 'So, the crux of the strike is this.'
'Nitish may take such a decision because he was the first person who was with the INDIA front.' 'He went back only because he did not get proper encouragement from the Congress.' 'Nitish will take a decision provided there is a strong alternative.' 'If he feels ours is a weak coalition, he will not come.' 'Then, this government will continue for five years.'
Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com travels to Pullampara to discover how it became India's first digital literate village.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
'It will be difficult to challenge Hindutva anymore as the police will have the power to charge you as anti-national.'
'Kamala likes south Indian food.' 'She likes a special rasam which her husband also likes, she likes coconut rice, she likes puri aloo...'
'We started AgniKul to show that space transportation should be as simple as road transportation.'
'Today's engineering graduates have to learn the skills to solve problems which is actually a higher order skill.'
'In Parliament, he was the one person who stood for democracy and secularism even when the principal Opposition party was not very forthright in taking on the BJP and RSS.'
'A campaign that goes beyond caste, creed and religion.' 'This is a campaign that aims to end hunger in society'
'Amit Shah had promised Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel that even if there were only one third of MLAs with them, they would be given the party symbol.' 'He promised them that the Election Commission would not take a decision against them and that they would get the party name and symbol.'
'Not even in my wildest dreams did I think I would write a book one day.'
The speech he gave in which he accused the Congress of getting black money in tempos from Ambani and Adani is remarkable.' 'It is a self-goal for sure, but indicates someone who has lost control, someone who is rattled.'
'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.'
'Generating employment requires a shift in policy.' 'If not, the country will face economic, social and political challenges in the coming years.'
'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.'
'The more educated a young person is, the higher the chances of him or her remaining unemployed.'
'The policy focus of the government should have been on creating more good quality jobs but that was not their focus.'
'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.'
'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.'
'Is it not a fact that all good leaders in the Congress have left the party?'
'The longevity of the government is a doubt for me because when the going gets tough, there could a be a point in time where there might be pressure, from within the party or from the allies.'
'The fraud is the electronic voting machine is being manipulated by humans, and not counting the votes that is shown on VVPAT.'
'My protest was in the interest of the nation.' 'I am just doing my duty as a citizen of this country.'
'If an employee has a contract with the employer that he cannot moonlight, you should honour that contract.'
'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.'
'After giving my own money to this party, I was insulted.'' 'Neither this party nor its leaders have no respect for women.'
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.
'What happened to Andhra Pradesh? It is the perfect example of the transientness of Federal Units.' 'Federalism is a transient thing in this country.'
'All those who participated in the agitation were branded as anti-nationals.'
'The sense of Constitutional propriety and political morality seems to be vanishing fast.' 'There are many things in today's politics of governance which Manmohan Singh would have never dreamt of saying or doing.'
'If we want real democracy, the economy itself will need to be democratised.'
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
