INDIRA GANDHI

There is not love where there is no will.

Even if I died in the service of the nation, I would be proud of it. Every drop of my blood... will contribute to the growth of this nation and to make it strong and dynamic.

All my games were political games; I was, like Joan of Arc, perpetually being burned at the stake.

People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights.

My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.

Have a bias toward action - let's see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away.

Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.

If I die a violent death, as some fear and a few are plotting, I know that the violence will be in the thought and the action of the assassins, not in my dying.

The power to question is the basis of all human progress.

One must beware of ministers who can do nothing without money, and those who want to do everything with money.

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

There exists no politician in India daring enough to attempt to explain to the masses that cows can be eaten.

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

A nation's strength ultimately consists in what it can do on its own, and not in what it can borrow from others.

There are two kinds of people: Those who do the work and those who take the credit … Be in the first group; there is less competition there.

We would rather starve than sell our national honor.

Martyrdom does not end something. It is only the beginning.

My father [Pandit Nehru] was a statesman. I'm a political woman. My father was a saint. I'm not.

Peace we want because there is another war to fight against poverty, disease and ignorance.

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

To bear many children is considered not only a religious blessing but also an investment. The greater their number, some Indians reason, the more alms they can beg.

As for Western women, it seems to me that they have often had to struggle to obtain their own rights. That did not leave them much time to prove their abilities. The time will come.

You cannot shake hands with a clinched fist.

The young people ... must recognize that they will get from their country tomorrow what they give her today.

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