“When America steps back... trouble will fill that vacuum.”
Condoleezza Rice, former US secretary of state, alleging that America’s “weariness” over foreign entanglements enabled Vladimir Putin’s land grab in Crimea, among other diplomatic crises (Time, April 14)
“Let it be said of Narendra Modi that he is petty, that he does not forget easily, and that he never forgives... What should we expect from a Modi sarkar? I predict: no quarter and no mercy.”
Aakar Patel, well-known columnist, on what the media should expect from a Modi-led government at the Centre (Mint, April 19)
“China’s fate, and that of the Communist Party, will be determined by the stability of its cities.”
Editorial in The Economist (April 19)
“Democracy cannot simply be a plurality of parties, free elections, peaceful handovers of power, an independent judiciary, constitutional governance, and personal and group freedoms. A healthy democracy must also have and promote substantively rich debate on policy alternatives and choices.”
Kanti Bajpai, educationist and foreign affairs expert, on the ‘quality’ of Indian democracy (Times of India, April 26)
“A necessary part of explaining reforms is to shake people into realising how not doing these things will doom us... ‘Explaining’ must include setting out the whole truth.”
Arun Shourie, former Union minister, on the need for citizens to instigate reforms (National Standard, April 28)
“If we want to raise the hope and confidence of Indian youth, we have to create jobs for them — jobs with good disposable income. We have to create 150-200 million jobs during the coming decade.”
N.R. Narayana Murthy, executive chairman of Infosys Technologies, on the prime focus areas of the new prime minister (The Economic Times, April 29)