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April 10, 2026
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"I never really envisioned myself running a city. It just kind of came upon me. It’s almost a force, a sense of responsibility that comes upon you."
"From a very early age, I was immersed in politics and surrounded with people who believed in the ability of government to help people"
"I knew nothing about how the Democratic Party worked in Ann Arbor. The next thing I knew, they made me ward chair."
"It’s kind of unbelievable"
"I haven’t been a woman (in office), I’ve been a mayor."
"One of my biggest regrets was having had to miss a lot of family time when my children were young, so I feel fortunate now that I’m retired to be able to spend time helping out with my grandchildren"
"Brater was cautious and sometimes secretive while pursuing an aggressive policy agend."
"The News, which was heavily critical of Brater at times, described Brater as an intensely reserved person, saying her adversaries saw her as calculating and secretive while her friends viewed her as shy and misunderstood."
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.