Indira Gandhi

“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”

“Whenever you take a step forward, you are bound to disturb something.”

“We have believed-and we do believe now-that freedom is indivisible, that peace is indivisible, that economic prosperity is indivisible.”

“I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.”

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

“You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.”

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

“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.”

“I am frequently attacked.”

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

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

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

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

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

“People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights.”

“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.”

“The collective judgment of the electorate must be respected.”