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Rajiv Gandhi

27 quotes

“If my mother gets help from it, then I will enter politics.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“India is an old country, but a young nation; and like the young everywhere we are impatient. I am young, and I too have a dream. I dream of an India strong, independent and self-reliant and in the front rank of the nations of the world in the service of mankind.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his vision of India, in his address to the Joint meeting of the US Congress in Washington on 13 June 1985, in Emotional Impact: Passionate Leaders and Corporate Transformation (8 November 2000), p. 97
“The terrorists are busy in and outside the country in such activities which are a danger to the unity and integrity of the country.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Instead of understanding the crisis facing the country and helping the country, the opposition wants to weaken the country by its deeds.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In his address to the party workers on 12 November 1984 to spoil the machinations of terrorist, when he was elected to the post of the President of the Congress Party, Meena Agrawal in “Rajiv Gandhi”, P.74
“The late Indira Gandhi always used to warn about the dangers that the country was facing. She used to keep saying that the country was going through a very dangerous time. This danger is now many times more than what it was at that time. We should all be cautious now.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In his address to the party workers on 12 November 1984 to spoil the machinations of terrorist, when he was elected to the post of the President of the Congress party. Quoted by Meena Agrawal in “Rajiv Gandhi” P.74
“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.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In his address to the party workers on 12 November 1984 to spoil the machinations of terrorist, when he was elected to the post of the President of the Congress party, quoted by Meena Agrawal in “Rajiv Gandhi” P.74
“Thereby, we have weakened ourselves and fallen prey to the ills that the loss of invigorating mass contact brings. Millions of ordinary Congress workers throughout the country are full of enthusiasm for the Congress policies and programmes. But they are handicapped, for on their backs ride the brokers of power and influence, who dispense patronage to convert a mass movement into a feudal oligarchy.. They are self-perpetuating cliques who thrive by involving the slogans of caste and religion and by enmeshing the living body of the congress in their net of avarice.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In his address to the Congress Centenary Session in December 1985 at Bombay, in India Since Independence: Making Sense of Indian Politics, p. 291
“When I was inspecting the guard of honor and as I walked past one person, I saw through the corner of my eye some movement. Then I saw a man reverse his rifle at me. I ducked down a little bit in a reflex action. By my ducking, he missed my head and the brunt of the blow came on my shoulder below the left ear.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Sri Lankan in Honor Guard Attacks Gandhi (30 July 1987)
“Better a brain drain than a brain in the drain.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in: Kishore Mahbubani, The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East, 2010, p. 70, and in: Mark L. Clifford, Janet Pau, Through the Eyes of Tiger Cubs: Views of Asia's Next Generati…
“When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rajiv Gandhi, commenting on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the murder of Indira Gandhi, quoted in Hindustan Times
“Our party is for the building of the temple to Lord Ram, and we should, if possible, work towards an amicable settlement which, while upholding the principles of secularism, enables the construction of the temple to start, with the approval and support of all concerned. ... The key issue appears to be whether or not there was a temple erected to Lord Ram at the site where the Babri Masjid stands today. This question of historical fact would appear to hold the key to a resolution of the problem to the satisfaction of all reasonable, secular-minded persons of all communities.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rajiv Gandhi 1990, [cit. Indian Express, 2 Dec. 1990, repr. Aggarwal & Chowdhry 1991:123]. Quoted from Elst, Koenraad (2012). The argumentative Hindu. New Delhi : Aditya Prakashan. Chapter: Ayodhya’s three history debat…
“Nothing is more important than the unity and integrity of our nation. India is indivisible. Secularism is the bedrock of our nationhood. It implies more than tolerance. It involves an active effort for harmony. No religion preaches hatred and intolerance. Vested interests, both external and internal, are inciting and exploiting communal passions and violence to divide India.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Broadcast to the Nation, 12 November 1984
“For nation-building, the first requisite is peace— peace with our neighbours and peace in the world. Our security environment has been vitiated.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Broadcast to the Nation, 12 November 1984
“Political Independence was only the first step. Sending the British home was only the first step. The struggle still continues. In the last 40-42 years since the advent of Independence, there has been a lot of development, a lot of progress but much more still needs to be done.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Hindi while addressing a tribal rally at Nandurbar, Pune, 31 March 1989 — Selected Speeches and Writings of Rajiv Gandhi, Vol.V, 1989, p.7
“The world is changing much too fast for us to have a moribund system which is not flexible, which cannot evolve and develop with changes in our society, in our country, as they come about in the world.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In 1988, p. 24
“A responsive administration is tested most at the point of interface between the administration and the people.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: in February 1988, p. 28
“A right value system must be built into our education system. We must be very clear that religion and politics must be separated and there must be a very clear definition of the difference between spirituality of the religion and its rituals and dogmas. We must be clear that secularism as we understand it is not only anti-religion or non-religion; it is only the separation of government from religion. Religion has a great role to play in the development process of our nation and we should do nothing to undermine it.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Independence Day speech on 15 August 1985, in p. 30
“The second point which must be part of the national goal, is caste less society. The constitution very clearly differentiates between Schedule Castes and Backward Classes. Why did out our Constitution makers make this distinction? They had something in their mind. Why have we lost that distinction today? I agree with you that reality is that caste accounts for a tremendous amount in this country. I do not disagree with that. But what is our goal? Is our goal a castless society? If out goal, is a casteless society, surely every step that we take must be towards that objective.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Parliamemt in 1992, p. 31
“India missed the Industrial Revolution; it cannot afford to miss the Computer Revolution.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our plan cannot be hard and dogmatic. They must change with the times and move with the development of our country. Every year brings new compulsions, new circumstances, and with each Plan these must be taken into consideration.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the Seventh Five Year Plan in 1985, p. 35,
“It is compartmentalization of India into rigidly separated rural and urban settlements that has been the worst legacy of the colonial system of local-self government.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In 1989, in “Memorable Quotes from Rajiv Gandhi and on Rajiv Gandhi (2009)”, Quote 17
“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 of our farmers. The thrust of our poverty alleviation programmes is on the uplift of the farmers.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inagural Speech at the 25th National Convention of the Bharat Krishak Samaj, Hyderabad, 15 February 1988. Transcript at . Quoted in
“The fight against communal forces must be fought unitedly. We are the heirs to Gandhiji’s heritage of communal harmony; to Panditji’s scientific outlook; and to Indiraji’s struggle against the forces of destabilization – terrorists, separatists, and communalists. We cannot fail them. Communalism must not be used as a political tool. If I may read a sentence from the secret Will of Babar to his son, Humayun: It is incumbent on thee to wipe all religious prejudices of the tablet of thy heart.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In “Memorable Quotes from Rajiv Gandhi and on Rajiv Gandhi (2009)” , Quote 41
“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.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In 1989. In “Memorable Quotes from Rajiv Gandhi and on Rajiv Gandhi (2009)” , Quote 42
“Development is not about factories, dams and roads. Development is about people.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...I had no love for politics. I treasured the privacy of my family life. My mother respected both these sentiments. Then my brother, Sanjay was killed in the prime of his life. It broke a mother’s heart. It did not break a Prime Minister’s will. Without even a day’s break, she carried on her noble task single-minded in fulfilling her pledge to her people There is a loneliness that only a bereaved mother can know...she called to me in her loneliness. I went to her side. At her instance, I left my love for flying at her instance I joined her as a political aide. From her I learned my first political lessons. It was she who urged me to respond to the insistent demand from the constituency and the part to take my brother’s place as Member of Parliament for Amethi. With her blessings I was made General Secretary of my party asking me to accept the challenge of stepping into her shoes. In accepting this challenge I fulfilled a national duty and a filial duty of a son to a mother.”
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Memorable Quotes from Rajiv Gandhi and on Rajiv Gandhi (2009), Quote 37