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.

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.

When you look at the beginning of the actual war, it's not hard to recognize that the Pakistanis were the ones to attack.

Everything I've done, I've done because I wanted to do it. In doing it, I've plunged in headlong, always believing in it.

It's true that I refused foreign aid. It's true. It wasn't my personal decision, however - it was the whole country that said no.

I always stayed married to my husband! Always, until the day he died! It's not true that we were separated!

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.