Indira Gandhi Quotes

“The India I want, I'll never tire of repeating, is a more just and less poor India, one entirely free of foreign influences. If I thought the country was already marching toward these objectives, I'd give up politics immediately and retire as prime minister.”

“I've always discovered things for myself, in marvelous freedom.”

“The people have nothing to fear of me; people have never feared me.”

“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”

“Just when you think you've achieved something, you realize you've achieved nothing. And still you have to go forward just the same - toward a dream so distant that your road has neither beginning nor end.”

“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.”

“The environmental problems of developing countries are not the side effects of excessive industrialisation but reflect the inadequacy of development.”

“I said that my father was not a politician. I, instead, think I am. But not in the sense of being interested in a political career - rather in the sense that I think it necessary to strive to build a certain India, the India I want.”

“The word 'when' is so important for a people, for an individual! If an individual thinks he won't do it, he'll never do it. Even if he's highly intelligent, even if he has countless talents.”

“Sometimes friends are dangerous. We must be very careful about the help friends give us.”

“Wearing khadi was a badge of honour. It was something one was proud to do.”

“It's a law of life - check it and you'll see it holds true in every situation of life.”

“In any case, I married Feroze Gandhi. Once I get an idea in my head, no one in the world can make me change my mind.”

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

“Poverty assumes so many aspects here in India. There aren't only the poor that you see in the cities, there are the poor among the tribes, the poor who live in the forest, the poor who live on the mountains. Should we ignore them as long as the poor in the cities are better off? And better off with reference to what? To what people wanted ten years ago? Then it seemed like so much. Today it's no longer so much.”

“Have you ever climbed a mountain? You see, once you arrive at the top of a mountain, you think you've reached the highest point. But it's only an impression that doesn't last long.”

“In India's distant past, when the population was low, the blessing given a woman was, 'May you have many children.' Most of our epics and literature stress this wish, and the idea that a woman should have many children hasn't declined.”

“If by happiness you mean ecstasy ... Yes, I've known ecstasy, and it's a blessing to be able to say it because those who can say it are very few. But ecstasy doesn't last long and is seldom if ever repeated.”

“People with clenched fists can not shake hands.”

“If I'm happy, I look happy; if I'm angry, I show it. Without worrying about how others may react.”

“I grew up like a boy, also because most of the children who came to our house were boys.”

“I refuse to indulge in small talk. And compliments, if at all, I save for after the job is done.”

“All the people who fought for freedom were my heroes. I mean, that was the sort of story I liked reading... freedom struggles and so on.”

“Happiness is such a fleeting point of view - there's no such thing as continual happiness.”

“I think one should do what seems right. And if what seems right involves danger...well, one must risk the danger.”