“We live in a country where 76 percent of our children will drop out before class X... Building India is only possible if we fix our education system. And fixing education is only possible if we ensure that India’s top graduates choose to teach, perhaps before joining the corporate world. ”
Anu Aga, chairperson of Teach for India (Times of India, January 24)
“I will tell you, I really liked him. I think he liked me. I think he was surprised also. There was good chemistry.”
US President Donald Trump after meeting former President Barack Obama (Time, January 23)
“The BJP finds it embarassing that the RSS — to which the top leadership and cadre of the BJP belong — was not part of the freedom movement... The RSS is trying to attach themselves to the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, to get a leg into the nationalist movement.”
Mohan Guruswamy, policy analyst, in an essay ‘RSS: In search of a genealogy’ (Deccan Chronicle, January 24)
“India’s great achievement has been, for the most part, claiming and reclaiming political equality every election. The sheer scale, exuberance and dignity of Indian elections can still make the most cynical observers giddy.”
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president Centre for Policy Research, in an essay on the occasion of India’s 68th Republic Day (Indian Express, January 26)
“It is not a policy we support. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.”
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, on US President Donald Trump’s executive order barring entry to citizens from seven Muslim countries (January 30)
“Bold, stubborn women, who are achievers, are desirable only to those who are strong and assured. (For some men) it’s frightening to handle a woman who can speak her mind.”
Kangana Raut, Bollywood actress, in an interview with Mid-Day (January 31)