Quote of the Week from the HT:

I believe and I claim that you can count the number of corrupt leaders of the political class.

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi

English is a mark of India, not Bharat.

Here is the relevant excerpt:
Surprisingly, for an Englishman who was knighted by the British monarchy in 2002, Tully was less than enthusiastic about the growing status of English as an aspirational language of the Indian middle class. “Learning English is an economic asset,” he said. “But the problem is its impact on regional languages. English is a mark of India, not Bharat,” he added.
The interview also has some quotes on Smt Sonia Gandhi. Also read, “Secular Fundamentalism”..alive and kicking in India
Somewhat Related: “The …

We will defend any citizen’s right to freedom of speech till our last breath
… But, we don’t want this kind of content to be on the social media.

From the transcript of an interview with Karan Thapar
Related Posts:  On Artistic Freedom, Censorship and Responsibility

It is hard to conceive of a government farther removed from the people in spirit or sympathy than is that of India.
There has been a marked change for the worse in this respect within the past twenty-five years..

These words were written more than a 100 years ago – but could well be describing the situation we find oursleves in today.
Source: The New Nationalist Movement in India by Jabez T Sutherland.
Related Post: A leaderless nation stumbling from one crisis to another

…or should this be “Joke of the week?”

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would have grown by another 2% if there would have been no RTI delays

Dr Choubey, Director General, SCOPE
Quoted in HT.  Image courtesy: Scope
Also read:  Prime Minister wants relook at RTI ‘grey areas and a related video snippet from my talk at IIM Indore last month: “On Open Government, Information and RTI“.

Ironically, Dr Choubey was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Amity University (in Feb ’08) “in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the overall development of social and business …

“..I want that numbers of our young men should pay a visit to Japan and China every year.
Especially to the Japanese, India is still the dreamland of everything high and good. And you, what are you? … talking twaddle all your lives, vain talkers, what are you? Come, see these people, and then go and hide your faces in shame. A race of dotards, you lose your caste if you come out! Sitting down these hundreds of years with an ever-increasing load of crystallized superstition on your heads, for hundreds …

Offered without comment. Hon Sh Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam:

I am equally concerned (about corruption) and I have proved it. No state government has sent as many cases of corruption – 10 in all – to the CBI as Assam

Context:  Chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday criticized Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev for trying to project themselves as the only two people in the country who are fighting against graft. “They are not the only two persons concerned about corruption. I am equally concerned and I have proved …

US President Barack Obama

Pakistan has been very obsessed with India. They see that as their existential threat. I think that’s a mistake

There is one more (emphasis added)..
Our job is to secure the United States. We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people..we can’t allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action.
Past quotes are here.. Image courtesy: WhiteHouse

Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam, speaking at a rally in Guwahati on 9th April 2011:

There are no illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the state..

Hon. Shri Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam
I presume they have all either already acquired legal citizenship or voters’ identity cards OR they have “migrated” to other parts of India – including Mumbai – where they mingle so well with the native population that they are rarely targeted as “outsiders”.
Past quotes are here
Related Posts: Notes from North-East: Indigenous Cultures, Demographic Invasion
North-East “burning”
Some startling stats from the eastern …

My guiding principle for the rest of the year (emphasis added):
“A decade into the 21st century, it has never been clearer that not letting yesterday’s institutions..roles, tasks, assumptions and beliefs fail..is a titanic roadblock standing in the way of a more authentic, enduring prosperity.
The future’s not predicted — it’s created. So create it.”

Umair Haque, Director, Havas Media Lab via HBR
Past quotes are here.