“Every democratic system evolves its own conventions. It is not only the water but the banks which make the river.

“Martyrdom does not end something, it only a beginning.” — Indira Gandhi

You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.

“Rebels and non-conformists are often the pioneers and designers of change.” — Indira Gandhi

My theory is that men are no more liberated than women.

The longer one doesn’t write, the more difficult it is to communicate.”

Politics is the art of acquiring, holding, and wielding power.

I don’t mind if my life goes in the service of the nation. If I die, every drop of my blood will invigorate the nation.

The civil servant is primarily the master of the short-term solution.

India wants to avoid a war at all costs but it is not a one-sided affair, you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.

The greatest of all contraceptives is affluence.

It is our duty to create a social milieu in which the young and the socially weak feel that the present and future belong to them.

There are moments in history when brooding tragedy and its dark shadows can be lightened by recalling great moments of the past.

Nothing can convince me that people are at one with their work unless they’re joyous about it.

To me the function of politics is to make possible the desirable.

How can anybody who is the head of a nation afford not to be a prag-matist?

The meek may one day inherit the earth, but not the headlines.

Mankind will endure when the world appreciates the logic of diversity.

Opportunities are not offered. They must be wrested and worked for. And this calls for perseverance... and courage.