“He was among the tallest leaders of our times. Singapore’s transformation in one generation is a tribute to his leadership… His achievements and thoughts give me confidence in the possibility of India’s own transformation.”
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s tribute to Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founder-prime minister who died on March 23 (March 29)
“People were climbing high-rise walls and sticking on them like lizards for passing over answer sheets. Had it been my rule I myself would have given them books inside the exam hall to copy and write.”
Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar chief minister, on a widely circulated photo depicting mass cheating during the class X Bihar state board exam (March 23)
“If the conversion propaganda against Christians was true, then the community would have been larger than 2 percent of the population as till very recently we ran a large number of private schools and hospitals in the country. Several BJP leaders studied in our schools; were they converted?”
Prabha Joseph, member of the Andhra Pradesh Minorities Commission, refuting allegations of the sangh parivar that Christian clergy is engaged in mass conversions (March 24)
“In the Nehru-Indira era, Indian socialists viewed Lee with contempt as a neo-colonial puppet, destined for humiliation and poverty. As things turned out, India earned maximum humiliation as a beggar for foreign aid, and the number of poor Indians doubled in 1947-77 even as Singapore soared.”
Swaminathan S. Aiyar, well-known columnist, on Lee Kuan Yew’s transformation of Singapore and the lessons India can learn from it (The Times of India, March 29)
“There are 12 million people coming into the job market every year. By 2025, that figure will be 30 million. India is a young country. If young people are not provided quality jobs, then we are sitting on a disaster.”
Y.C. Deveshwar, ITC chairman, at the India Today Conclave (India Today, March 30)
