Indira Gandhi

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

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

I think basically I'm lazy, but I have a housewife's mentality when I go about my job.

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.

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

You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.

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

Happiness is a state of mind, you know. I don't think you are permanently happy. One is happy about certain things and not so happy about others.

Never forget that when we are silent, we are one. And when we speak we are two.

There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.

Popularity is not a guarantee of quality.

Anger is never without an argument, but seldom with a good one.

I do not like carving the world into segments; we are one world.

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.

People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights.

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

We have to prove to the disinherited majority of the world that ecology and conservation will not work against their interest but will bring an improvement in their lives.

Martyrdom does not end something, it only a beginning.

There are grave misgivings that the discussion on ecology may be designed to distract attention from the problems of war and poverty.

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.

My father was a statesman, I am a political woman. My father was a saint. I am not.

Nothing that is worthwhile is ever easy.

The collective judgment of the electorate must be respected.

Winning or losing of the election is less important than strengthening the country.

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

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

Have a bias towards action lets see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away.

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

Anger is never without an argument but seldom with a good one.

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

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.

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.

Rebels and non-conformists are often the pioneers and designers of change.

I am not a person to be pressured - by anybody or any nation.

Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.

There are two kinds of people those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group there is less competition there.

There is not love where there is no will.

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.

We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further, and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers of people. Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters?

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

I have lived a long life, and I am proud that I spend the whole of my life in the service of my people. I am only proud of this and nothing else. I shall continue to serve until my last breath, and when I die, I can say, that every drop of my blood will invigorate India and strengthen it.