For me the only point that has remained unchanged through the years is that in India there is still so much poverty.

What we do now, on the other hand...Don't think that I'm crazy about this kind of politics. It's no accident that I've done everything to keep my sons out of it, and so far I've succeeded. After independence I retired immediately from politics.

I don't waste time in flowery small talk, as people do in India.

I know I'll astonish everyone by talking like this, but it's God's truth. Honors have never tempted me and I've never sought them.

I think I'm cold, indeed icy, hard. Then there's another reason, one that goes with my frankness: I don't put on act.

Ability is not always gauged by examination.

When it's impossible, it's better to stoop to compromise, without resisting and without complaining. People who complain are selfish.