I've never understood women who, because of their children, pose as victims and don't allow themselves any other activities.

The India I want, I'll never tire of repeating, is a more just and less poor India, one entirely free of foreign influences. If I thought the country was already marching toward these objectives, I'd give up politics immediately and retire as prime minister.

As for the job of prime minister, I like it, yes. But no more than I've liked other work that I've done as an adult.

How can anybody who is the head of a nation afford not to be a prag-matist?

I suspected [Richard Nixon] was very pro-Pakistan. Or rather I knew that the Americans had always been in favor of Pakistan - not so much because they were in favor of Pakistan, but because they were against India.

I am proud that I spent the whole of my life in the service of my people ... 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 was a perfect housewife. Being a mother has always been the job I liked best. Absolutely.