Barkha Dutt

“In 2020 we saw the poorest Indian citizen suffer as migrant workers, in the hundreds of thousands, fled the cities on foot, sometimes barefoot, to return to the villages.”

“Even those of us who do not understand the nuances of economics have come to accept that reform cannot be bloodless. We are often impatient with the predictable, do-gooder campaigns against development. We argue passionately against the humbug protests of those who never want the poor to get rich.”

“People care when service is sluggish and comes from an arrogance and complacency that often besets those who know they can never lose their jobs.”

“A hidden camera can only be a good journalist's last resort. But sometimes, it's the only option.”

“Grief, like Covid-19, mutates and escapes the inoculation of both time and the reassurance of loving friends. It is less sledgehammer and more screwdriver, drilling little holes in your head and heart, leaving you haunted by the ifs and buts of your decisions.”

“Covid-19-affected patients cannot be orphaned.”

“We do not have to be trapped in the simple-minded binaries of the western world.”

“It has become impossible for India to talk about caste with any candour.”

“A hidden camera must never become a lazy substitute for the rigours of old-style reporting.”

“A message you abhor has to be trumped with a more powerful one.”

“Politics, by definition, is risk averse. Perhaps that's why America was so awestruck when Barack Obama ended the Black vs White debate by painting his political canvas in shades of grey.”

“We can barely deal with men who set their own rules; to ask us to accept a woman who is individualistic, passionate, beautiful and yes, possibly annoyingly arrogant, makes us just a little nervous.”

“Most of us in the media are, by and large, sentimental about our national identity, but comfortable enough in our skins as Indians, to be deeply self-critical. The problem arises when loyalty to India gets mixed up with loyalty to the government of the day.”

“I don't care if a flight attendant is fat as long as she doesn't sneak back to the galley for a gossip when she should be pushing down the food trolley. I get annoyed when the food trays are slapped down on my seat by bored and disinterested men and women. I look for warmth and comfort, not cold efficiency.”

“If there is a bulwark against the BJP juggernaut, it can only be India's regional parties. But they too falter in the face of the Modi factor and their own lack of commitment to a full time, 365 days a year, 24-hour-a-day political life.”

“To call the coronavirus a great equaliser turned out to be the greatest falsification of our time.”

“India cannot pretend anymore that none of its citizens fancy membership to the Global Jehad club. We need to examine where our secularism has failed.”

“The sanctimony that a section of the media wears like a second skin comes undone so fast when the scrutiny is on them.”

“Every institution of India - politicians, journalists and corporate chieftains - comes within the purview of the judiciary but when it comes to auditing their own conscience, judges want everyone else to stay out.”

“Nostalgia can be an awful bore, especially for those whose memories are painted in hues different from ours.”