“Sedition is an anachronistic crime but it is unfortunate if a country starts using it more actively.”
Amal Clooney, human rights lawyer, addressing the India Today Conclave in New Delhi (March 18)
“What we give to the poor are called subsidies but what we give to the rich is known as incentive. The government gives thousands of crores in bailout packages to corporations. On the other hand, a university budget is usually much smaller in scale.”
Kanhaiya Kumar, president of the JNU Students Union who was recently released on bail in a sedition case (Outlook, March 21)
“The tirade against the public education system and RTE Act is a classic case of giving the dog a bad name with intention to kill it, so that a wolf of their choice could replace it in the name of guarding the house.”
Rohit Dhankar, professor at Azim Premji University, on alleged machinations of “the private schools lobby” against public education (The Hindu, March 26)
“The bigger point is, we have reached a stage where we either have growth or equity. We have to admit that without greater equity we cannot sustain growth. You need a Budget or economic policy which understands that.”
Harsh Mander, director, Centre for Equity Studies on Union Budget 2016-17 (Business Today, March 27)
“There’s an epidemic in our country of girls and women feeling bad about themselves based on what 0.5 percent of the human race looks like.”
Melissa McCarthy, Hollywood actress, arguing for more-inclusive beauty standards, especially in fashion (Time, March 28)
“Between them, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, who ruled India for 37 of its first 42 years of independence, presided over one of Asia’s great economic flops.”
Sadanand Dhume, resident fellow, American Enterprise Institute, Washington DC, on dynastic politics in post-independence India (Times of India, March 28)
