"I fundamentally think our children are at a compe-titive disadvantage. The children in India and China who they are competing (with) for jobs are going to school 25-30 percent more than we are."
Arne Duncan, US education secretary (Washington Post, April 1)

"Half of India’s population still struggles to put food on the table, a shelter over their heads, and take care of their health. Can you be their agent of change? Can you be their voice? Management, that you have learnt here, is needed as much in the areas of improving public systems and addressing poverty."
Pankaj Chandra, IIM-Bangalore director addressing the graduating class of 2009 at the institute’s 34th annual convocation (April 2)

"The advent of the internet has adversely affected the research and writing skills of students."
Deepak Pental, vice-chancellor, Delhi University (Times of India, April 6)

"The use of computers in offices is creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines."
Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party president, discussing the party manifesto (The Hindu, April 12)

"This is not just the flogging of a girl; it is an indication of what is in store for us."
Asma Jahangir, head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, on the beating of a teenage girl by the Taliban in the Swat Valley (Time, April 20)

"India is secular because it is a Hindu country. When Pakistan declared itself an Islamic state, the natural consequence should have been that India declare itself a Hindu country."
L.K. Advani, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate (India Today, April 20)

"When was hunger or joblessness an issue (in the media) anyway? Most publications have given zero space to India’s dismal show in the Global Hunger Index. All these are problems that pre-date the meltdown in Wall Street."
Development journalist P. Sainath (The Hindu, April 20)