Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh

"To keep an eye on the pyramid of power from the outside, without the attendant responsibility, is a pleasant, rewarding and proactive exercise. Education and by implication, the future must be controlled by the Left in its glorious hour."

J.S. Rajput, former director of NCERT, in The Asian Age (November 12)

"India always had the highest intellectual capital, though we were unable to quantify it earlier. We are at the threshold with potential for the big take-off. What we need is adequate research funding."

R.L. Mashelkar, director, Council for Scientific and Industrial Reaerch

"If even people like me — those who advocate peace and dialogue — are denied the right to publish their books in the US with the assistance of Americans, then people will seriously question the view of the US as a country that advocates democracy and freedom everywhere."

Shirin Ebadi, Nobel peace prize winner, in The Asian Age (November 21)

"We do want women to speak out, but equally we want men to speak out. It is men who have to change the mindsets, it is men who control the workings of families in these countries."

"This year again thousands of people are going to die in agony because they do not possess as much as a blanket to cover their emaciated bodies at night. The slaughter will be attributed to a cold wave but the real issue is the dreadful poverty in which people have been allowed to live decade after decade."

Sociologist Jean Dréze in The Hindu (November 22)

"It is curious that Indians who are bitterly critical of Amercian foreign policy, values and lifestyles, see no contradiction in seeking a fortune for themselves and their offspring in the US."

Sunanda Datta Ray in Business Standard (November 27-28)

"People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without putting in the necessary work or having natural abilities."