The Insider
P.V. Narasimha Rao
Top 10 Best Quotes
“I think the most sacred right of man is to be happy.”
“Today, in view of the rising political consciousness and the high cost of forcible occupation, we are no longer in an age where war can be used as an extension of foreign policy. This is the age of coercive diplomacy, when the projection of forces in intimidatory, deterrent and defensive roles has become an inextricable aspect of international relations.”
“To keep choosing between the one kind of damage and the other was unprofitable. Wisdom lay in preventing or avoiding damage altogether, of both kinds.”
“To do good seemed to take a great deal of effort, like moving a mountain, while to do seemed easy. Worse still, many people took evil as the expected norm - until it was publicly detected in the actions of the person in power. Then it was played up relentlessly till it was out of all proportion to reality. Often, the person involved was ruthlessly crushed as a fly under a sledge-hammer.”
“The press. I believe that each one is as good as the best in the profession. However, their difficulty is that their job essentially lies in describing the way things go wrong. Most reporters subconsciously believe that all ministers are nitwits, or ought to be if they're true to type. Journalists relish the performance of ministers who mess up with wrong answers and cringe for publicity.”
“The nation as a democratic entity, was where man's most potent institution, the state, assumed critical importance. If the state deployed its power to step up the hiatus (between desire and capability) further, the organism would break at some point.”
“The great attraction of public life seemed to be its expanding frontiers, its flexible horizons. It was a realm of infinite possibility, a task that was never concluded, a challenge that never abated.”
“The caste factor loomed larger with every passing day, and Indiraji and everyone in the high command had noticed it. This unmistakable trend had appeared in the political process and threatened to overwhelm it eventually. A casteless society thus seemed to be impossible, at least in the short run, as matters stood. It was a grotesque irony for a party which proclaimed castelessness as its creed.”
“The Central leadership had neither permanent friends nor permanent foes in the states. It only had a stock of permanent tools. No two of them were alike and no one agreed with the rest, ever. Each gloated over his own 'pull' in Delhi and ran the others down for having 'fallen from grace'. They furnished regular reports to the Centre about each other's nefarious activities, exaggerated out of all proportion. Each of them waxed eloquent about the supposed CBI investigations ordered against the others.”
“Sardar Patel, in as early as 1950, drew Nehru's attention to the threat posed by China. In a detailed letter containing some truly prophetic formulations about China's intentions and plans, he warned JN of the dangers of complacency and strongly urged a serious reconsideration of the entire China policy and the various steps that needed to be taken to meet the new situation. The Sardar said, in his letter: "Thus, for the first time after centuries, India’s defence has to concentrate itself on two fronts simultaneously. Our defence measure have so far been based on the calculations of a superiority over Pakistan. In our calculations we shall now have to reckon with Communist China in the north and in the north-east, a Communist China which has definite ambitions and aims and which does not, in any way, seem friendly disposed towards us. In my judgement, the situation is one in which we cannot afford either to be complacent or to be vacillating. We must have a clear idea of what we wish to achieve and also of the methods by which we should achieve it. Any faltering or lack of decisiveness in formulating our objectives or in pursuing our policy to attain those objectives is bound to weaken us and increase the threats which are so evident.”
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Book Keywords:
society, journalism, norm, possibility, happiness, china, war, diplomacy, democracy, sardar-patel, publicity, caste, power, damage, press, evil, politics, india, challenges, wisdom, public-life, nehru, state, good
