"If children don’t catch on to science at a young age, we will lose whatever scientific or technological advantage we have."
Dr. C.N.R. Rao, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Commission to the prime minister (India Today, May 10)
"It is unlawful for Muslim women to work in government or private sector where men and women work together and women have to talk with men frankly and without the veil."
Fatwa from Darul Uloom, Deoband decreeing that it is haram (illegal) for women to work (May 12)
"I have a limited mandate to tackle Naxals. I have asked for more mandate to the prime minister."
Union home minister P. Chidambarm after the Maoists blew up a bus killing 36 civilians in Dantewada on May 17
"It is constantly reinventing itself. It is very good about taking the pain and suffering of urban living and converting this into something more meaningful and positive through street theatre, art festivals, music and dance."
Columnist Shoba Narayan on Mumbai being India’s most ‘happy’ city (Mint Lounge, May 29)
"As competition intensifies in the marriage market, men or parents with sons raise their savings rates with the hope of improving their relative standing in the marriage market."
Qingyuan Du and Shang-Jin, Chinese researchers explaining China’s high savings rate (Mint, May 29)
"Both Chidambaram and Raman Singh seem to be disciples of Bush. If you are not wth us, you are against us."
Ramchandra Guha, historian-author, on Union home minister P. Chidambaram and Jharkhand chief minister Raman Singh castigating civil rights groups for siding with Maoists (Outlook, May 31)
"We wrote out an alphabet with some children, and they associated the letter K with AK-47."
Lourdes Almada, head of a community organisation that works with children in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez, where drug violence has claimed the lives of thousands (Time, May 31)