Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Poverty is multidimensional. It extends beyond money incomes to education, health care, political participation and advancement of one's own culture and social organisation.Collection: Education
The regional parties have emerged as a strong force, and they, too, deserve a place in national politics.Collection: Politics
Indian democracy's greatest strength is that we have always put the nation above politics.Collection: Strength
Our nuclear scientists and engineers have done a splendid job, and naturally, the entire nation has risen to salute their professional excellence, discipline, and patriotism. They have had the benefit of having been led in the past by great men like Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.Collection: Patriotism
It is true that of all the states in India, Nagaland has a unique history. We are sensitive to this historical fact. But this uniqueness has in no way diminished the spirit of patriotism among the Naga people.Collection: Patriotism
India was secular even when Muslims hadn't come here and Christians hadn't set foot on this soil. It is not as if India became secular after they came. They came with their own modes of worship, and they, too, were given a place of honor and respect. They had the freedom to worship God as per their wish and inclination.Collection: Respect
I believe that democracy is the best guarantor for peace and cooperation among nations.Collection: Peace
You can change friends but not neighbours.Collection: Change
Empowering the individual means empowering the nation. And empowerment is best served through rapid economic growth with rapid social change.Collection: Change
I dream of an India that is prosperous, strong and caring. An India, that regains a place of honour in the comity of great nations.Collection: Great
If Pakistan had not accepted the demand to stop cross-border infiltration and the United States had not conveyed to us Pakistan's guarantee to do so, then nothing could have stopped a war.Collection: War
My message to the people and rulers of Pakistan is, 'As neighbours, we want peace and friendship and cooperation with you so that together we can change the face of South Asia.'Collection: Friendship
The spending in science and technology need to be to increased.Collection: Technology
India helped Bangladesh to achieve independence. The Bangladeshis should remain happy inside the territory of their own country.Collection: Independence
Though I stay in Delhi, I often think about Himachal.
We believe in resolving all disputes peacefully.
Our frequent initiatives to normalise relations with Pakistan are not a sign of our weakness; rather, they are an indication of our commitment to peace.
Violence does not contribute to anything.
I believe India and Israel should focus on building bilateral relations on the basis of shared perspectives and commonalities between our two democracies. This has to be a forward-looking exercise rather than harking back to perceptions of the past.
India has a consistent and well-known position on terrorism. We oppose all acts of terrorism, wherever they occur. We have repeatedly said that no cause can justify violence and destruction, particularly aimed at civilians.
Our objective should be to firmly deal with terrorism and its sponsors, financiers, and arms suppliers. At the same time, our doors should always be open for processes which would restore peace, development, and progress to societies which have been devastated by terrorism over many generations.
We want peace to be permanent.
Creative universities are bedrock of every developed nation's S&T strategy.
It is a matter of concern that science departments in India's vast university system have suffered greatly due to lack of investments, both material and in terms of faculty.
We used to fight with Pakistan with bombs. Now we are fighting with them on the playing ground.
No one can be considered untouchable on political grounds.
Labour reforms are not anti-worker.
During the 1942 Quit India Movement, I was a student at Gwalior High School. I was arrested by the British for participating in the movement. My parents then sent me off to my village where, again, I jumped into the movement.
I am often accused of colluding with the British during the freedom struggle. I want to ask, how?
If Advaniji did not want, I would never have been Prime Minister.
It requires an effort of logical acrobatics to believe that carnage of innocents is an instrument for freedom and elections are a symbol of deception and repression!
If Pakistan claims to be a crucial partner in the international coalition against terrorism, how can it continue to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy against India?
Whatever understanding is reached with Pakistan has to be followed honestly, and everybody will have to rise above party politics and be actively committed to make India prosperous.
The BJP decides its own policies.
Who can forget that in critical times of war in 1962, 1965 and 1971, Naga underground organisations did not fire on the Indian Army? They showed restraint.
I believe the gun is no solution to problems.
No guns but only brotherhood can resolve the problems.
We have given up office, but not our responsibility to serve the nation. We have lost an election, but not our determination.
While accepting donations, no one looks at the colour of money.
India and the United States have taken a decisive step, away from the past. The dawn of the new century has marked a new beginning in our relations. Let us work to fulfil this promise and the hope of today. Let us remove the shadow of agitation that lies between us and our joint vision.
India has never played politics with national security.
India has the sanction of her own past glory and future vision to become strong - in every sense of the term.
Let me make one thing clear. I have never considered mere survival in power as any achievement, just as I have never seen coming to power as an achievement in itself.
For me, power was never an attraction.
India is a proud and sovereign country. We do not take any decisions under pressure from the U.S. or any other power.
The BJP is not a party dependent on a single individual, nor is it tied to the apron strings of a family.
India has a legitimate right to becoming a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
People want government to deliver - here and now.
Terrorism has become a festering wound. It is an enemy of humanity.
I have a vision of India: an India free of hunger and fear, an India free of illiteracy and want.