Last year, many people were upset with me when I said: “Kolkata did not die, it was deliberately murdered”. I hope they now understand what I was trying to say. Recent events are just the culmination of decades of socio-cultural disintegration that would have been obvious to anyone taking an honest look.

I sometimes say things that are harsh and unpopular. I care deeply about these issues, and it neither gives me joy to say them nor any satisfaction to be proved right. However, all progress is based on the willingness of a society to do an honest introspection. Hope that the process has begun.

~ Sanjeev Sanyal, writer, economist