Politicians From India

"It cannot be denied that this is happening in Bengal. 30% of the total population there are Muslims (some say 23%, some 25%, but 30% if the voting figures are to be considered). The border districts adjoining Bangladesh, such as Nadia, Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Malda, and a large part of South 24 Parganas, all have become completely Muslim dominated."

"Whatever the reasons behind dubbing Modi an international pariah and the subject of a diplomatic boycott involving both the US and the European Union member states, one conclusion was inescapable: it was a brazen attempt to pronounce judgment on the internal affairs of a sovereign country. Modi, after all, hadn’t been held guilty [of] "mass murder" by an Indian criminal court. Indeed, there were no charges against him then or subsequently. Yes, the Gujarat leader had been pilloried mercilessly by both his political opponents and the human rights lobby that has formidable international links. A political aversion to Modi was translated into the diplomatic censure of a man who held a [c]onstitutional position. It was a step too far and one that didn't lend itself to an easy U-turn."

"The violence that started on the afternoon of May 2, 2021, had only one objective – to break the backbone of the BJP organization. BJP got 38% votes, the Majority of the Hindu vote was in favor of the BJP, which means the support of a large percentage of voters was with us. Therefore, the aim was to create such an environment using violence that in the future, support for BJP should be eliminated, and the backbone of the organization should be broken. The fear should be such that the supporters of the BJP do not come out of the house and the same thing happened."

"It’s true. This violence was unexpected. Nobody expected it. There is victory and defeat in elections, but the way violence started right from the counting centers has never been seen before. To date, this has not been seen anywhere in India. The BJP workers or even the organization were not prepared for this level of violence, this allegation is absolutely true. There have been attacks on our workers. Close to 50,000 workers had to be homeless. Close to 20 people were murdered. During all this, our organization could not help its workers in the slightest."

"The US hates having to admit it was ever wrong."

"Having exposed its fangs publicly, Washington will not readily admit it miscalculated horribly. If Modi comes to power, a working relationship with the US Embassy will be established. But let us have no doubts that the repair job will also be accompanied by surreptitious attempts to undermine him."

"Today, the countries that had kept up a civilised relationship with Modi despite the US’s strictures—these include Japan, Singapore, Canada, Australia, Israel[,] and even China—are happy with the knowledge that their transition to a new regime will be extra smooth. Nor will the others who changed their tune midway feel disadvantaged. It is only the US that invested politically in the witch-hunt against Modi that feels seriously threatened."

"[...] France [...] too had invested heavily in the Congress establishment and in the skewed advice of its so-called India experts."

"I don’t think that this arrest will either frighten or silence Arnab Goswami. It will enhance his appeal and make the Shiv Sena and Congress appear ridiculous."

"In 2008 or 2009, I approached a leading publisher with a proposal to write a political study of the Modi phenomenon. Their editor got back saying that the staff was horrified at the very idea that a sympathetic study of Modi should even be considered."

"An atmosphere of hate was systematically built up. The whole purpose of it was to suggest that only one community has a veto over decision-making in India"

"Some people (cabal members) who thought that they had a monopoly over truth and over wisdom found that the masses didn’t agree with them…These people are now confused …and want to say that they’re the repository of the entire truth and everything else is false consciousness."

"It is one thing of offer, as Mr. Advani has consistently done, a powerful critique of the prevailing political culture. But the problem lies in designing an alternative... How, for example, does the concept of Hindu Rashtra...square with the notion of 'justice for all and appeasement of none? The campaign for the Ram Mandir, while important in symbolic terms, is unlikely to be a substitute for a comprehensive, alternative philosophy. Having tapped the reservoirs of anti-status quo, the BJP is unlikely to progress if its critique stops at the secular-communal issue. Mr. Advani has struck a powerful blow at the shibboleths of Nehruvian consensus; his successor will be frittering away the advantages if a simultaneous assault is not launched on the other article of the reviled faith - socialism."

"He became one of the cinema-crazed state's best-known idols. Wide-shouldered, flamboyant and with a proud, hawkish face, Rama Rao made as good a villain as he did a hero, but he is best known for his portrayals of the two gods Krishna and Rama."

"What is destined to happen will happen. Victory and defeat are like light and darkness."

"He introduced educational reforms and laid the foundation for the Telugu Ganga project to provide drinking water to Madras city, apart from irrigating the dry lands of Rayalaseema."

"He believed that only strong States could make a strong Centre. He convinced the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in this regard which made her change her earlier stance that strong States would mean a weak Centre."

"Cinema unifies us despite caste, creed and race. While watching a movie in a cinema hall, we don't care who is seated next to us. We laugh at the same jokes and cry at the same scenes. We should be proud of Indian cinema for integrating us,""

"Nandamuri Taraka. Rama Rao [was] the hero of the masses in his reel life, who later became their hero in real life by unseating the nearly century old and well-entrenched Congress, and forming the first ever non-Congress Government in the State."

"There was a feeling of rebellion in the society and the star with a biggest rebel in celluloid screen Amitabh Bachhan became the icon. His angry young man image caught the attention of all the sections of society. The frustrated youth in his angry young man image saw a window of opportunity to rise against all odds."

"I strongly believe that "Amitabh Bachchan" has the power to influence people and bring all of us together for a greater purpose – of peace, brotherhood and solidarity. By showcasing films from around the world and creating a platform for healthy dialogue, DIFF has taken cinema to its next level of social relevance. Personally, I am humbled by this recognition from Dubai, a city I consider as my second home."

"When they were growing up, I was working from morning to night. When I left, they were asleep, when I came back, they were asleep," once he told a magazine. Even when they were young, he couldn't visit their school as Shweta and Abhishek asked him not to visit them to avoid too much commotion"

"If Slumdog Millionaire projects India as a Third World, dirty-underbelly, developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations. It's just that the Slumdog Millionaire idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Golden Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."

"We had forgotten the art of using silence to convey emotions in our films and that's what you seem to have mastered. You've used silence to great advantage in the film. It's brilliant."

"He never gave us a script and we never asked - we were safe in his hands."

"I believe that cinema picks up ideas from society and not the other way round."

"When your back is against the wall, there's only one way to go and that's forward."

"One does not leave gold untouched, when one discovers the yellow metal in filth. One is very ready to pick it up. What is intrinsically good will never change no matter where it is found. A diamond is often spotted amidst black blocks of coal. Lotus blossoms in a swamp and the beautiful rose blooms among thorns. In fact the presence of such invaluable wonders enhances the importance of a place no matter how sullied it is!"

"It is good to praise others but it important to look for faults within oneself. It is nice to be concerned about people but to be introspective is even nicer."

"I do not deny the importance of truthfulness, but sometimes an untruth, which benefits someone, may turn out to be a better alternative. It is better to have an impeccable character but it is more important to spread love and compassion."

"We should learn from the mistakes and experiences of others, particularly from those less knowledgable than we are. If our experiences are not grounded in reality, our decisions can never be correct."

"Tread the track of life with utmost caution. But let this not deter you from taking giant leaps towards your goals. Excessive caution may reduce your speed to move ahead in life."

"Nature is one. There is only one truth in life. We have a single universe, which has a sole creator."

"A seed is small in size. But it carries in its womb leaves, flowers, fruits, nay even the whole tree. The human brain is very much like a seed. It may not have a great shape and size. But it traps within itself endless possibilities. It is a fountainhead of thoughts and promises that can be fulfilled."

"No one from Indian Cinema has made a bigger impact on the world.” he said. “"

"I am worried. I am praying to Allah and haven't been able to sleep well ever since I heard of the recent development," the words rang out from the telephone receiver. On the other end was 25-year-old Asma Idris from Cairo, who confessed that "she was in love" with our superstar no.1."

"It seemed as if all of Cairo had turned out to welcome him at the airport when he came in 1997...We are planning to name the suit, where he stayed, after him."

"This Amitabh Bachchan seems to be more popular than me in Egypt."

"One man industry."

"I'd be accused of bias, but worldwide currently Pa [Amitabh Bachchan] is absolutely iconic, he's celebrated, he's respected. He definitely is deservedly iconic, and I say this without any bias, and if I am accused of it so be it."

"Mr Bachchan smells so nice that I can smell him from a good distance."

"What kind of journalism do the self-appointed defenders of minority rights want to promote in India that does not give a journalist the right to interview a thrice-elected chief minister simply because the Congress and the Left parties feel threatened by him [Narendra Modi]? Likewise, Amitabh Bachchan was attacked viciously for merely doing an ad campaign for Gujarat’s tourism department."

"Elements of Gandhism were by and large inherent in my life style and mode of thinking even after I adopted Marxism. While expressing my ideological difference with Gandhism, I became a political activist who upheld the high values of Gandhism and tried to translate them in my personal lifestyle."

"He also created opportunities for Kerala to prove its capabilities at the national and international levels."

"E.M.S. Namboodiripad was a leader who equipped Communist parties to handle governance in a bourgeois system."

"E.M.S. Namboodiripad straddled the history of twentieth century Kerala and the Indian Communist movement in a manner which invokes awe. The word ‘history’ is what recurs in the Malayalam media while paying tributes to him. History maker, history’s man, epochal figure: these are some of the terms which underline the recognition that EMS was something bigger than a political leader."

"Between December 1991 and March 1998, octogenarian E.M.S. Namboodiripad wrote 128 columns for Frontline on an impressive-indeed awesome-range of subjects. For these seven years and more, his was simply the most dependable contribution from the standpoint of the editorial desk....He was a Master at handling history on the wing...EMS wrote one column a month for Frontline.... ‘Perspective’, the EMS column ranged over politics, philosophy, economics, education, social movements, literature, cultural affairs, religion and books."

"EMS was uniquely positioned to analyze the various phases of the national movement and the role of Gandhi. He began his political life as an ardent Gandhian. Through out his life, while d adhering to the Marxist world outlook, he practiced many of the Gandhian principles of simplicity and personal austerity that are cherished by Indians."

"Namboodiripad was by birth a brahmin,that too from the most exclusive and ancient namboodiri community of kerala,yet if he had not been from this community,communism leave alone E.M.S the man would have never become a by-word in Kerala"

"Namboodiripad's engagement with history was not academic but an inevitable part of his involvement with politics."