Top 38 Quotes & Sayings by Rajiv Gandhi

We took such a beating on Bofors. As far as I know, no one from my government was involved.

Even before V. P. Singh was shifted, the media was creating an impression that he was facing difficulties. This was totally incorrect.

To Mahatma Gandhi, the key to India's progress was the development of its villages. In his unified vision, education, agriculture, village industry, social reform all came together to provide the basis for a vibrant rural society free from exploitation and linked to the urban centres as equals. Our planning incorporates this basic insight.

We must remember that self-reliance and eradication of poverty demands - indeed, compel - the present generation to bear hardship and make sacrifices. Those who are employed have a duty to the future of India. They have to be more productive and consume less so that resources can be made available for investment and for programmes to help poor.

I don't think that NTR is anti-Indian.

The freedom movement transformed the status of women. Women fought along with men as comrades. In the process, the shackles that had bound them fell away.

I think of those giants who made the Indian National Congress. Seldom has the world seen a nobler galaxy of women and men, so selfless in their devotion to the cause of freedom, so exalted in thought, so brave in action, so pure in spirit.

Indiraji should have been here today, speaking to you in her gentle, impassioned voice. One with Bharatmata's immortal spirit, she now shines as a lodestar not only for us but for all humanity.

I have never felt vulnerable nor restricted in my movements.

I think what Punjab needs today is vigorous economic development and rebuilding of trust and social cohesion.

How shall we remember Mahatma Gandhi, that eternal pilgrim of freedom? Born of the very spirit of India, steeped in the tradition, the song, the legend of our ancient land - and yet he was revolutionary. Unique among revolutionaries, he marched for freedom, clad in the robe of truth, with non-violence for his staff.

I didn't have any personal goals when I came, but after being in politics - after seeing people, their difficulties, their wants - I think our goal has to be to eliminate poverty from India.

The secretariat will play a pivotal role in decision-making above a certain level, where basic policies are involved, but below that, we will have to leave the implementation to whoever is in charge.

In every democracy, it is the people's will that is supreme. We should translate the intense yearning of the people of India and Pakistan for friendship into meaningful measures of cooperation in every walk of life.

I think we will be able to work with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to reduce tension and concentrate efforts in both the countries on real problems of the people - poverty, social injustice, and development.

There is no problem between Giani Zail Singh and Rajiv Gandhi.

We are committed to the development of friendship and good neighbourly relations with Pakistan. I believe that Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto shares this commitment.

Civilizations are built by the ceaseless toil of a succession of generations. With softness and sloth, civilizations succumb. Let us beware of decadence.

We need a better strategy to achieve the national goal of a stable population, healthier and better educated.

To the nameless and unsung heroes of our freedom struggle, we offer our humble tribute. Their life-blood nourishes the body of independent India.

I find I have less time for everything. The assembly elections came so soon, and there is still so much work to be done.

We cannot and will not rest until we have won true swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions - until we have wiped out poverty from our land.

I would like to clarify that our opposition to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is not related to any consideration involving Pakistan. Our position on this important issue is consistent and principled. We are not ready to sign the NPT as it stands today because it is blatantly discriminatory in character.

In Kashmir, you need utmost cooperation between all centres of authority.

There has to be a national consensus. We cannot legislate without overwhelming national consensus that religious and communal groups should be totally banned from politics.

For some days, people thought that India was shaking. But there are always tremors when a great tree falls.

We have been making changes continuously. You cannot expect everything to be perfect the minute it is made. Things change; they are dynamic as you progress. The requirements change. Demands change. So you change with that.

If farmers become weak the country loses self-reliance but if they are strong, freedom also becomes strong. If we do not maintain our progress in agriculture, poverty cannot be eliminated from India.But our biggest poverty alleviation programme is to improve the living standard of our farmers. The thrust of our poverty alleviation programmes is on the uplift of the farmers.

Education must be a great equaliser in our society. It must be the tool to level the differences that our various social systems have created over the past thousands of years.

Our task today is to bring India to the threshold of the twenty-first century, free of burden of poverty, legacy of our colonial past, and capable of meeting the rising aspirations of our people.

Thinking of this University [Ambedkar University] today, we are reminded of Mahatma Gandhi because if there was anyone who fought for the weak in India, the first one to raise his voice for Scheduled Castes, that was Gandhiji. There were social workers before him but not any people who raised this matter in the political arena as he did.

Every person should take a lesson from history. We should understand that wherever there have been internal fights and conflicts in the country, the country has been weakened. Due to this, the danger from outside increases. The country has to pay a big price due to this type of weakness.

When a big tree falls, the ground shakes

Development is not about factories, dams and roads. Development is about people. The goal is material, cultural and spiritual fulfilment for the people. The human factor is of supreme value in development.

Women are the social conscience of a country. They hold our societies together.

India is an Old country but a young nation…I am young and I too have a dream, I dream of India Strong, Independent, Self-Reliant and in the front rank of the nations of the world, in the service of mankind.

She was mother not only to me but to the whole nation. She served the Indian people to the last drop of her blood.

We must see that regional imbalances in the growth of various parties of the country are removed and all the states progress evenly. We shall ensure that all citizens of the country get full opportunity to contribute their might towards India's progress.