They said it

They said it”It is often said that caste is a reality in India. I couldn‚t agree more. But your government is in the process of making caste the only reality in India‚¦” — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, member convener of the National Knowledge Commission, in his resignation letter to the prime minister protesting OBC reservations (May 22)”Either withdraw the 27 percent reservation for OBCs or give us permission to commit suicide.” — Six junior doctors of Motilal Nehru Medical College, Allahabad in a letter to President Abdul Kalam (May 25)”Why should I apologise? By apologising I will let down those who have lost homes and lands to the dam. Am I wrong in taking up the poor man‚s issue? No Indian will think of letting fellow brethren lose home, land and bread and butter.” — Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan on why he will not withdraw his support for proper rehabilitation of people affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam (May 26)”It is clear that private responses of even Bajaj, Tatas or Infosys are not adequate. We have neither the system of philanthropy nor the presence of private foundations like Ford or Rockefeller in India. We can‚t match their generosity.” — Shiv Visvanathan in Times of India (May 26)”Those of us who live abroad and get their India through private satellite TV channels get the sense that culturally nothing is happening in India outside of Bollywood.” — Hasan Suroor in The Hindu (May 26)”Abu Ghraib was the biggest mistake that‚s happened so far, at least from our country‚s involvement in Iraq‚¦ We‚ve been paying for that for a long period of time.” — President George Bush on the lessons of the Iraq war”Indian authors other than Rushdie haven‚t really hit the big time because they haven‚t really taken any risks with their writing.” — Liz Calder, publishing director of Bloomsbury in Times of India (May 27)”Caste consciousness is the gift of the Indian politician to the university. Not all political parties have been equally active in spreading the virus of caste, but the Congress has certainly been in the forefront.” — Sociologist Andre Beteille in Times of India (May 29) Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp