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

I refuse to indulge in small talk. And compliments, if at all, I save for after the job is done.

To me the function of politics is to make possible the desirable.

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 cannot understand how anyone can be an Indian and not be proud.

I've always discovered things for myself, in marvelous freedom.

Muslim women had to go out in purdah, that heavy sheet that covers even the eyes. Hindu women had to go out in the doli, a kind of closed sedan chair like a catafalque. My mother always told me about these things with bitterness and rage.