When I was young, I was very selfish, now not any more.

Never forget that when we are silent, we are one. And when we speak we are two.

It depends on what you mean by the word religion. Certainly I don't go to temples and pray to the gods or anything like that.

All of a sudden inscriptions appeared on walls. Signs appeared. And that 'no' exploded all over India, in an act of pride that surprised even me. Then even the political parties, all of them, even the deputies in Parliament, said no: it's better to die of hunger than be taken for a nation of beggars.

In an underdeveloped society, the first anxiety is of infant mortality. In an advanced one it is to keep alive the aged.

I discovered [Joan of Arc] toward the age of ten or twelve, when I went to France. I don't remember where I read about her, but I recall that she immediately took on a definite importance for me. I wanted to sacrifice my life for my country. It seems like foolishness and yet...what happens when we're children is engraved forever on our lives.

I was a perfect housewife. Being a mother has always been the job I liked best. Absolutely.