"His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, passion and humanity earned him their love."
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, mourning the loss of his iconic predecessor Nelson Mandela who died on December 5 (Time, December 23)
"If Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister of India, I will stay in India and I will fight it because I know exactly what kind of person he is."
Ramachandra Guha, author-historian, on the possibility of Modi being elected as prime minister of the country (Deccan Chronicle, December 22)
"Nothing emboldens the corrupt more than the belief that there will be negligible or no consequences for their corrupt behaviour. The Lokpal will, hopefully contribute in some measure to create the nexus between crime and punishment."
Pawan K. Varma, adviser to the Bihar chief minister, on the Lokpal Bill (Times of India, December 21)
"No one can die of cold. If people die of cold then nobody will survive in Siberia."
Anil Gupta, Uttar Pradesh principal secretary, on media reports that several children had died due to extreme cold in the relief camps of Muzaffarnagar (December 27)
"Being an old party is no guarantee for the survival of the Congress... In British politics, the Liberal Party won by a landslide in 1905 but never returned to power ever after..."
Lord Meghnad Desai, well-known economist, on the Congress party’s prospects in the impending 2014 general election (National Standard, December 29)
"More spending on health and education solidifies the foundation of growth as well as development. You can start anywhere anytime and each of them will work."
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen advocating greater government social sector spending (The Hindu, December 31)
"A small act of misunderstanding or a minor fracas gets amplified into what is literally a collective execution of men and a systematic rape of women."
Shiv Visvanathan, social scientist, on the Muzaffarnagar riots in which over 60 people were killed and hundreds left homeless (Deccan Chronicle, December 31)