“The field of battle lies before you, the flag of India beckons to you, and freedom herself awaits your coming... Who lives if India dies? Who dies if India lives?" --- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru urging people to join Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi March on March 12, 1931

"Let us always remember that we are all children of our mother country. Indeed, I have never worked in any other spirit than that I am an Indian, and owe duty to my country and all my countrymen. Whether I am a Hindu, a Mohammedan, a Parsi, a Christian, or any other creed, I am above all an Indian. Our country is India; our nationality is Indian."--- Shri Dadabhai Naoroji during his Presidential Address at the Congress Session, 1893, Lahore

"There is something unique in this soil, which despite many obstacles has always remained the abode of great souls." --- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

"In this vast country of ours, people profess different religions, speak different languages, dress differently and observe different customs; but we are one nation; the history of our struggle for independence and our faith in our future development are our common bonds." --- Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri

"India is an old country, but a young nation, we are impatient. I am impatient and I too have a dream of an India— strong, independent, self-reliant...” --- Shri Rajiv Gandhi during his address to the US Congress, 1985.