Indira Gandhi

 

19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984

Indian politician, first woman Prime Minister of India, assassinated 1984.

 

Politics is the art of acquiring, holding, and weilding power.

Attributed 1975

 

I have lived a long life, and I am proud that I spent the whole of my life in the service of my people. I am only proud of this and of nothing else. 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.

Speech the day before her assassination,  Bhubaneshwar, 30 October 1984

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.

 

Martyrdom does not end something, it is only a beginning.

 

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.

 

You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.

 

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