To embrace Hindutva is to embrace an obscurantist, backward looking, divisive ideology that seeks to polarise society through identity politics.
— Kapil Sibal
Nationalism and anti-nationalism is a matter of perception. You cannot mandate who is a nationalist and what is not.
There's a difference between those who breed terrorism and those who fight terrorism. This difference should be recognised by the people of India.
If you employ an army, have money, bombard cyberspace with misinformation, innocent people tend to buy it.
Most of us tend to be swayed by what we read. Judges are not superhuman. They, too, are mortals. This is why they have to be exceptionally careful in rendering decisions, which cause unintended consequences.
The greater the power, the greater the responsibility in its exercise.
When the state machinery defends criminals and the public prosecutors collude with the accused in certain cases and the victims are members of a particular community, then 'Justice to all' is empty rhetoric.
My abiding faith in the wisdom of our electorate is what gives me hope.
A single element in transactional mode can never be analysed to calculate either loss or presumptive loss. The losses or gains of all elements in the transaction need to be analysed.
Ever since Modi became prime minister, he has given a free rein to his ministers and BJP functionaries to create an environment of communal tension and violence.
The government must adopt a rights-based approach that speaks to the needs and aspirations of surrogate mothers, children born out of surrogacy, and all individuals who want access to altruistic surrogacy services.
To fix India's healthcare scenario, what is most needed is 'systems thinking.' For far too long, India has followed a vertical approach in its health sector, which translated into disease-specific national programmes being set up.
What the government and we in society need to do is to address the issue of gender justice.
If two people cannot live together, both should have the right to opt out of the marriage. In an ideal world, that would be an acceptable solution.
While the Internet is important for us, India is also necessary for the Internet with its 1.2 billion population.
We are wedded to freedom of expression and shall do nothing to diminish that freedom.
For a movie, you have to make sure the lyrics are consistent with the rhythm that is given to you. But, at times, during the song's recording, you find out that your words are not appropriate for the track, and so you have to change them.
Sedition involves sloganeering with incitement. It may be anti-national, but not a crime, unless you incite violence or communal tension.
You may dislike what somebody else has said; that is perfectly valid. You may not agree with what somebody else has said. But saying something cannot possibly amount to sedition.
Our party never tolerated those who use violence for political ends. Our leaders lost their lives standing against terrorism.
Normally, the law of nature is such that one who rises falls, and one who rises quickly falls as quickly. I don't know how the law of nature will work as far as Modi is concerned. But some time or the other, all bubbles burst. This bubble will also burst.
Public interest is a very unruly horse.
The optimal use of natural resources can be made only if there is a well-thought-out policy framework for their exploitation towards a particular end use.
The BJP, undoubtedly, is a party with a mission. Spreading hatred and religious discord, indulging in state-sponsored violence and fake encounter killings, and resorting to divisive politics have been integral to this mission.
The success of a particular policy prescription is always a gamble.
Market mechanisms are totally irrelevant when resources are used to serve a larger purpose, especially for the underserved, unserved, or marginalised.
The fabric of our Constitution and our civilisational culture is based on tolerance.
Yes, the state must intervene to prevent the exploitation of poor Indian women who are enticed or coerced into surrogacy, as well as to protect the rights of surrogate children. However, it should also be empathetic to individuals with alternative lifestyles who are well within their legal and human rights to demand access to surrogacy services.
The government must understand that it cannot substitute the health, nutrition, and overall development outcomes of Indian citizens with 'efficiency gains.'
Unless the issue of the empowerment of women is addressed, the practice of women being unfairly treated will remain unresolved.
India should be an exporter of technology.
Internet governance is an oxymoron. The Internet must govern itself. But you can't play cricket without any rules.
If the Planning Commission said those who live above Rs 5,000 a month are not at poverty line, obviously there is something wrong with the definition of poverty in this country. How can anybody live at Rs 5,000?
Politics runs in every human being, and so does music.
An individual can have a point of view. He is entitled to that.
Intolerance is alien to Hinduism.
The DNA of a true Hindu is liberal. We are, by essence, liberal.
Given an opportunity, Modi has violated the freedom of press both in letter and spirit. He destroys freedom of the press whenever he gets a chance.
The genesis of Public Interest Litigation in listening to the voice of the voiceless and giving access to the poor, the marginalised, and the weak is a unique experiment to be lauded.
Natural resources must be so distributed, by way of auction or otherwise, that they serve a larger public purpose.
Humility is an attribute of every good Hindu.
Economists often get the market wrong.
The mindset of a terrorist and the mindset of intolerance know no territorial boundaries when individuals are targeted either for their eating habits or for any other reason.
By limiting access to surrogacy based on flimsy and exclusionary criteria, the government may just give rise to a mushrooming black market.
We must make the government accept that at a time when we are expected to look ahead, we cannot afford to start discriminating against our own people in the name of 'ethos.'
There is an urgent need for the Central government to take the lead in ensuring health and nutrition service delivery.
In India, by and large, women are not educated enough to be bread winners and, within the moorings of traditional cultures, do not have the courage and the capacity to leave the matrimonial home. Given the inequality prevalent in family structures, the woman's right to opt out is suicidal.
To the youth who have taken up guns, I urge them to return to their parents and shun violence.
We are great believers in the idea that the Internet can help bring justice, but justice varies from place to place across the world.
My voice is not good enough for me to sing a song.
