I think education has a bigger impact on the lives of people than absolutely anything else.

I remain instinctively hostile to communitarian philosophy and communitarian politics.

Even in areas like the most depressed region of India in terms of female education, namely Rajasthan, which has [one of] the lowest female literacy [rates] in India. Even there, 80 to 90 percent of the parents would like their girls to go to school. And indeed, about 80 percent would like them to be made compulsory.

I was told Indian women don't think like that about equality. But I would like to argue that if they don't think like that they should be given a real opportunity to think like that.

Anything that increases the voice of young women tends therefore to reduce the fertility rate.

I believe that virtually all the problems in the world come from inequality of one kind or another.

I don’t think that India is much celebrated for its democracy. Democracy has been a very neglected commodity at home and abroad.