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Favourite quotes (21448)

“Happiness is such a fleeting point of view—there’s no such thing as continual happiness. There are only moments of happiness—from contentment to ecstasy. And 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 ever repeated. If by happiness you mean an ordinary contentment, then yes—I’m fairly contented. Not satisfied—contented. Satisfied is a word I use only in reference to my country, and I’ll never be satisfied for my country. For this reason I go on taking difficult paths, and between a paved road and a footpath that goes up the mountain, I choose the footpath. To the great irritation of my bodyguards.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Oriana Fallaci. Interview with Indira Gandhi in New Delhi, February 1972

“In the end, Indira Gandhi has earned her name as a great martyr on the doorsteps of history. With her courage and efficiency, she demonstrated that only she understood the realities of our corrupt and divided society and was capable of uniting the country dominated by rotten politics. She was a great woman and in her valiant death, she has become greater.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Nanaji Deshmukh, Quoted in Friends Of Saffron https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/friends-of-saffron/205424 Outlook Magazine, 27 April 1998

“The question before us is not whether Indira Gandhi should continue to be prime minister or not. The point is whether democracy in this country is to survive or not. The democratic structure stands on three pillars, namely a strong opposition, independent judiciary and free press. Emergency has destroyed all these essentials.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal in: Transforming India http://books.google.com/books?id=reiwAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA28, Harvard University Press, 16 September 2013, p. 28.

“Indira is India and India is Indira.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Sidhartha Shankar Ray in: SACRIFICIAL GOATS SCAPEGOATS and GUINEA PIGs: Misadventures and Misrepresentations http://books.google.com/books?id=2HiRtyt2iWEC&pg=PA79, AuthorHouse, 2007, p. 79 <br class="br">Her ardent follower coined this sentence during Emergency.

“The KGB, in Kalugin’s view, was more successful than the CIA, partly because of its skill in exploiting the corruption which became endemic under Indira Gandhi’s regime. As Inder Malhotra noted, though corruption was not new in India: People expected Indira Gandhi’s party, committed to bringing socialism to the country, to be more honest and cleaner than the old undivided Congress. But this turned out to be a vain hope. On the contrary, compared with the amassing of wealth by some of her close associates, the misdeeds of the discarded Syndicate leaders, once looked upon as godfathers of corrupt Congressmen, began to appear trivial.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

The Mitrokhin Archive

“Suitcases full of banknotes were said to be routinely taken to the Prime Minister’s house. Former Syndicate member S. K. Patil is reported to have said that Mrs Gandhi did not even return the suitcases... The Prime Minister is unlikely to have paid close attention to the dubious origins of some of the funds which went into Congress’s coffers. That was a matter which she left largely to her principal fundraiser, Lalit Narayan Mishra, who – though she doubtless did not realize it – also accepted Soviet money. On at least one occasion a secret gift of 2 million rupees from the Politburo to Congress (R) was personally delivered after midnight by the head of Line PR in New Delhi, Leonid Shebarshin. Another million rupees were given on the same occasion to a newspaper which supported Mrs Gandhi. Short and obese with several chins, Mishra looked the part of the corrupt politician he increasingly became. Indira Gandhi, despite her own frugal lifestyle, depended on the money he collected from a variety of sources to finance Congress (R). So did her son and anointed heir, Sanjay, whose misguided ambition to build an Indian popular car and become India’s Henry Ford depended on government favours.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

The Mitrokhin Archive

“India under Indira Gandhi was also probably the arena for more KGB active measures than anywhere else in the world, though their significance appears to have been considerably exaggerated by the Centre, which overestimated its ability to manipulate Indian opinion.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

The Mitrokhin Archive

“Dacca is now the free capital of a free country.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Address to Parliament announcing the victory of Bangladesh-India Forces over the Pakistan Army, (December 16, 1971) http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/1971/Dec16/index.html.

“India wants to avoid a war at all costs but it is not a one-sided affair, you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Press conference, New Delhi (October 19, 1971), quoted in "Indian and Pakistani Armies Confront Each Other Along Borders" by Sydney H. Schanberg, The New York Times (October 20, 1971), page 6C.

“All unprejudiced persons objectively surveying the grim events in Bangladesh since March 25 have recognized the revolt of 75 million people, a people who were forced to the conclusion that neither their life, nor their liberty, to say nothing of the possibility of the pursuit of happiness, was available to them.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Referring to the fundamental rights of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" in the United States Declaration of Independence in a letter to Richard Nixon (December 15, 1971). http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2005/07/03/stories/2005070300090100.htm.

“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.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

"True Liberation Of Women" http://gos.sbc.edu/g/gandhi1.html, speech, inauguration of the All-India Women's Conference Building Complex in New Delhi, India (March 26, 1980). Published in Selected Speeches and Writings of Indira Gandhi, September 1972-March 1977 (New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1984, pp. 417-418).

“My father was a statesman, I'm a political woman. My father was a saint. I'm not.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Quoted in "Indira's Coup," profile by Oriana Fallaci, The New York Review of Books (September 18, 1975).

“I am not interested in a long life. I am not afraid of these things. I don't mind if my life goes in the service of this nation. If I die today, every drop of my blood will invigorate the nation.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Source: Speech, Bhubaneswar, India (October 30, 1984), quoted in "Death in the Garden," by William E. Smith, Time (November 12, 1984) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926929-3,00.html.

“There are moments in history when brooding tragedy and its dark shadows can be lightened by recalling great moments of the past.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Letter to Richard Nixon (December 15, 1971) http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2005/07/03/stories/2005070300090100.htm.

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

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

"The Embattled Woman Who Relishes Crosswords, Children...and Running India," People (June 30, 1975).

“Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

“I am here today, I may not be here tomorrow. But the responsibility to look after national interest is on the shoulder of every citizen of India. I have often mentioned this earlier. Nobody knows how many attempts have been made to shoot me, lathis have been used to beat me. In Bhubaneswar itself, a brickbat hit me. They have attacked me in every possible manner. I do not care whether I live or die. 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.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

In: Selected Speeches of Indira Gandhi: January 1, 1982-October 30, 1984 http://books.google.com/books?id=ndA3AQAAIAAJ, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1986, p. 495. <br class="br">Her last speech delivered in Orissa on 30 October 1984 before she was assassinated.

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

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

"Preface, 4th Five Year Plan" http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/4th/4ppre.htm, Government of India Planning Commission (July 18, 1970).

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

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

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

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Attributed
Variant: You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.