Quotes from Rajiv Gandhi

Indiraji should have been here today, speaking to you in her gentle, impassioned voice. One with Bharatmata's immortal spirit, she now shines as a lodestar not only for us but for all humanity.

I have never felt vulnerable nor restricted in my movements.

She was mother not only to me but to the whole nation. She served the Indian people to the last drop of her blood.

There has to be a national consensus. We cannot legislate without overwhelming national consensus that religious and communal groups should be totally banned from politics.

I didn't have any personal goals when I came, but after being in politics - after seeing people, their difficulties, their wants - I think our goal has to be to eliminate poverty from India.

Education must be a great equaliser in our society. It must be the tool to level the differences that our various social systems have created over the past thousands of years.

The secretariat will play a pivotal role in decision-making above a certain level, where basic policies are involved, but below that, we will have to leave the implementation to whoever is in charge.

I think we will be able to work with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to reduce tension and concentrate efforts in both the countries on real problems of the people - poverty, social injustice, and development.

I think of those giants who made the Indian National Congress. Seldom has the world seen a nobler galaxy of women and men, so selfless in their devotion to the cause of freedom, so exalted in thought, so brave in action, so pure in spirit.

We cannot and will not rest until we have won true swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions - until we have wiped out poverty from our land.

We are committed to the development of friendship and good neighbourly relations with Pakistan. I believe that Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto shares this commitment.

We must remember that self-reliance and eradication of poverty demands - indeed, compel - the present generation to bear hardship and make sacrifices. Those who are employed have a duty to the future of India. They have to be more productive and consume less so that resources can be made available for investment and for programmes to help poor.

Even before V. P. Singh was shifted, the media was creating an impression that he was facing difficulties. This was totally incorrect.

For some days, people thought that India was shaking. But there are always tremors when a great tree falls.

When a big tree falls, the ground shakes

We have been making changes continuously. You cannot expect everything to be perfect the minute it is made. Things change; they are dynamic as you progress. The requirements change. Demands change. So you change with that.

In every democracy, it is the people's will that is supreme. We should translate the intense yearning of the people of India and Pakistan for friendship into meaningful measures of cooperation in every walk of life.

The freedom movement transformed the status of women. Women fought along with men as comrades. In the process, the shackles that had bound them fell away.

We took such a beating on Bofors. As far as I know, no one from my government was involved.

I would like to clarify that our opposition to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is not related to any consideration involving Pakistan. Our position on this important issue is consistent and principled. We are not ready to sign the NPT as it stands today because it is blatantly discriminatory in character.

Women are the social conscience of a country. They hold our societies together.

How shall we remember Mahatma Gandhi, that eternal pilgrim of freedom? Born of the very spirit of India, steeped in the tradition, the song, the legend of our ancient land - and yet he was revolutionary. Unique among revolutionaries, he marched for freedom, clad in the robe of truth, with non-violence for his staff.

To the nameless and unsung heroes of our freedom struggle, we offer our humble tribute. Their life-blood nourishes the body of independent India.

Civilizations are built by the ceaseless toil of a succession of generations. With softness and sloth, civilizations succumb. Let us beware of decadence.