“Socialism in India has not disappeared. It has mutated into something far more corrosive: caste-based identitarian politics, a culture of entitlement and a political economy of freebies that has distorted democratic practice and undermined economic potential.”

Anurag Shukla, director of a policy think tank, in an essay titled ‘Why it’s a folly to recycle a failed ideology like socialism in India’ (Times of India, September 28)

“Teachers do talk about things that are making their professional lives difficult. The sense of helplessness they feel in the face of bureaucratic aggression is a common complaint. One might mistakenly assume that bureaucratic aggression and expectations prevail only in government schools. Corporatised management of private schools manifests in ways quite similar to the control that is bureaucratically exercised on government school teachers.”

Dr. Krishna Kumar, former director of NCERT, in an essay titled ‘In India, why teachers are walking away from the classroom’ (Indian Express, October 5)

“On October 10 every year, World Mental Health Day highlights the extent of mental illness in the world – over one billion people (13 percent of global population) suffering from mental illnesses. India is a part of this, with a 13.7 percent lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in the country.”

Samayeta Bal, advocate, in an essay titled ‘India needs a unified mental health response’ (The Hindu, October 10)

“Electoral rolls are the bedrock of free and fair elections. Now, voters are in trouble as they are being asked to provide proof documents.”

O.P. Rawat, former Chief Election Commissioner, on the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar (India Today, October 13)

“In the globalised world, without English there is no future.”

Narendra Jadhav, former Rajya Sabha member, on the lanaguge war (India Today, October 13)