The people have nothing to fear of me; people have never feared me.
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.
I think basically I'm lazy, but I have a housewife's mentality when I go about my job.
I have already reached out to the janata, and I am only trying to acquaint myself with people's problems.
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.
Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.
The environmental problems of developing countries are not the side effects of excessive industrialisation but reflect the inadequacy of development.
I am frequently attacked.
This is why we feel that democracy's important: because democracy allows you to have small explosions and therefore avoid the bigger explosions.
A nation' s strength ultimately consists in what it can do on its own, and not in what it can borrow from others.
There is not love where there is no will.
You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.
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?
I am not a person to be pressured - by anybody or any nation.
My father was a statesman, I am a political woman. My father was a saint. I am not.
Never forget that when we are silent, we are one. And when we speak we are two.
One must beware of ministers who can do nothing without money, and those who want to do everything with money.
There are grave misgivings that the discussion on ecology may be designed to distract attention from the problems of war and poverty.
Winning or losing of the election is less important than strengthening the country.
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.
If I see something dirty or untidy, I have to clean it up.
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.
I'm certainly not a workaholic.
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.
Don't be humble, you're not that great.
Martyrdom does not end something, it only a beginning.
Wearing khadi was a badge of honour. It was something one was proud to do.
You must be still in the midst of activity and be vibrantly alive in repose.
On the one hand, the rich look askance at our continuing poverty - on the other, they warn us against their own methods.
The purpose of life is to believe, to hope, and to strive.
My son had nothing to do with policy or decision making, nor did I discuss the elections or any other matter with him.
The power to question is the basis of all human progress.
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.
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.
I've never turned to anybody for advice and counsel. Even when I was a very small child, I had to stand on my feet because of the circumstances of those times, and somehow, the circumstances have remained more or less the same. I have to take my own decisions.
You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.
There exists no politician in India daring enough to attempt to explain to the masses that cows can be eaten.
All my father's works have been written in prison. I recommend prison life not only for aspiring writers but for aspiring politicians too.
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.
I do not like carving the world into segments; we are one world.
All my games were political games; I was, like Joan of Arc, perpetually being burned at the stake.
I was happy to be with my parents. I didn't see very much of them, so I was very happy when my father was there and out of jail.
I don't think my father was my mentor.
The collective judgment of the electorate must be respected.
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.
