Quote collection
260 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"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."
"Opportunities are not offered. They must be wrested and worked for. And this calls for perseverance... and courage."
"I am proud that I spent the whole of my life in the service of my people ... 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."
"Every new experience brings its own maturity and a greater clarity of vision."
"To be liberated, woman must feel free to be herself, not in rivalry to man but in the context of her own capacity and her personality."
"People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights."
"Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave."
"Without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue. You have to have courage - courage of different kinds: first, intellectual courage, to sort out different values and make up your mind about which is the one which is right for you to follow. You have to have moral courage to stick up to that - no matter what comes in your way, no matter what the obstacle and the opposition is."
"The purpose of life is to believe, to hope, and to strive."
"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."
"Women sometimes go too far, it's true. But it's only when you go too far that others listen."
"To become capable, one must have faith in oneself."
"Whenever you take a step forward, you are bound to disturb something."
"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."
"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose."
"We always said that our struggle was not only against the British as representatives of colonialism, it was against all the evil that existed in India. The evil of the feudal system, the evil of the system based on caste, the evil of economic injustice."
"The power to question is the basis of all human progress."
"I cannot understand how anyone can be an Indian and not be proud."
"Difficulties can't be eliminated from life. Individuals will always have them, countries will always have them...The only thing is to accept them, if possible overcome them, otherwise to come to terms with them. It's all right to fight, yes, but only when it's possible."
"One day in 1965 Rajiv wrote me from London, where he was studying, and informed me, 'You're always asking me about girls, whether I have a special girl, and so forth. Well, I've met a special girl.' And when Rajiv returned to India, I asked him, 'Do you still think about her in the same way?' And he said yes. But she couldn't get married until she was twenty-one, and until she was sure she'd like to live in India. Sonia is almost completely an Indian by now, even though she doesn't always wear saris."