"The mistake people often make between India and China is to ask which country will get rich first. That is the wrong [approach]. The race is whether China will reform its politics and India will reform its governance. Whoever will fix its government first will win the race."

"In my view a strong liberal state has three characteristics. An executive capable of quick, determined action. Second, that action has to be bound by the rule of law. Third, that action has to be accountable to the people."

"Democracy with all its frustrations, with its weaknesses and flaws, is still the very best answer for any country"

Gurcharan Das was at the Legatum Institute for a discussion on his new book, India Grows at Night