People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.

The history of the world shows that peoples and societies do not have to pass through a fixed series of stages in the course of development.

I only used a cell phone for the first time after I was released. I had difficulty coping with it because it seemed so small and insubstantial.

Some of the most relaxing weekends I have ever enjoyed were those I spent quietly with a sense of all work to date completed, and an absorbing mystery.

Human rights must be protected by the rule of law, and there can never be occasions where human rights can be neglected or ignored or the rule of law set aside.

If I advocate cautious optimism it is not because I do not have faith in the future but because I do not want to encourage blind faith.

How can you call it a sacrifice when you choose to do something because you believe in it?

If you feel helpless, go help someone.

One should mature over 20 years.

Democracy, like liberty, justice and other social and political rights, is not "given", it is earned through courage, resolution and sacrifice.

Regimented minds cannot grasp the concept of confrontation as an open exchange of major differences with a view to settlement through genuine dialogue.

In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth women are not merely "tolerated", they are valued.

The important thing is fear should not control your actions. It should not dictate what you do.

You may not think about politics, but politics think about you.

The greatest gift for an individual or a nation... was abhaya, fearlessness, not merely bodily courage but absence of fear from the mind.

The peace of our world is indivisible. As long as negative forces are getting the better of positive forces anywhere, we are all at risk.

I think that freedom is sometimes a state of mind. Sometimes, mind you, but not always.

Each man has in him the potential to realize the truth through his own will and endeavour and to help others to realize it.

Fear is a habit; I am not afraid.