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.

The future doesn't frighten me, even if it threatens to be full of other difficulties.

Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.

It is legitimate to have one's own point of view and political philosophy. But there are people who make anger, rather than a deeply held belief, the basis of their actions. They do not seem to mind harming society as a whole in the pursuit of their immediate objective. No society can survive if it yields to the demands of frenzy, whether of the few or the many.

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

In India people can't stomach this attitude of mine, and when I say, 'Hurry up, let's get to the point,' they feel hurt.

My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.