“It’s important for good people to join the nation’s decision-making process and take up leadership roles. If we don’t, others will.” — Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, former Olympic silver medallist marksman and first-time MP on the need for youth to join politics (India Today, June 9)
“The problem is not so much authoritarianism, though all governments here are authoritarian in varying degrees including India. It is that they simply cannot govern. From north India to North Africa is a zone of failed, failing and flailing states.” — Kanti Bajpai, educationist and foreign affairs expert, on the rising number of countries from north India to North Africa in crisis (Times of India, June 21)
“Crudity and graphic representation of culturally objectionable symbols as manifested in the UPA’s so-called sex education programme cannot be called sex education... Sex education is necessary but without vulgarisation.” — Harsh Vardhan, Union health minister, denying media reports stating that he proposed a ban on sex education in schools (June 27)
“Our universities cannot attain global standards till they are freed from excessive officious control and the bureaucratic mindset of regulatory bodies.” — Prabhash Rajan of South Asian University, New Delhi, on the University Grants Commission order to Delhi University to withdraw its four-year undergraduate programme (The Hindu, June 28)
“A government which is soaked in foreign funds is targeting us. There will now be harassment, false cases and anyone who opposes is going to be branded anti-development, anti-national. Today it’s the environment movements and NGOs. Next it will be the trade unions.” — Medha Patkar, well-known activist, responding to an IB report on Indian NGOs receiving foreign funding (Outlook, June 30)
“I don’t think you’ve lived long enough.” — Hillary Clinton, former US secretary of state, responding to an opinion that feminism is old-fashioned and out of date (Time, June 30)