Lal Bahadur Shastri birth anniversary: Top 50 quotes and messages

Today, India marks the birth anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the third prime minister. Here are the top 50 quotes by India's third PM

Today is October 2, and everyone is talking about Mahatma Gandhi but there is one more legend, who was born on this day, Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was the third prime minister of India who left behind a rich legacy of integrity, honesty, and humility worth emulating. 

The people of India remember him for his iconic slogan - 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ that he coined to motivate India's farmers and soldiers when India was at war with Pakistan in 1965. He served as India's PM for almost 2 years, i.e., between 1964-66.

Shastri lived a simple and minimalistic life. He and his family also joined the people of India in skipping a meal for weeks in response to the US's threat to cut supplies of wheat during the Indo-Pak war. Lal Bahadur Shastri breathed his last in Tashkent on January 11, 1966.

Apart from 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, here are some of the top 50 quotes by Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Lal Bahadur Shastri birth anniversary: Top 50 quotes

1. "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" (Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer).
2. "The preservation of freedom is not the task of soldiers alone. The whole nation has to be strong."
3. "We believe in peace and peaceful development, not only for ourselves but for people all over the world."
4. "Discipline and united action are the real sources of strength for the nation."
5. "True democracy or the swaraj of the masses can never come through untruthful and violent means."
6. "India will have to hang down its head in shame if even one person is left who can enjoy no right."
7. "The loyalty to the country comes ahead of all other loyalties. And this is an absolute loyalty, since one cannot weigh it in terms of what one receives."
8. "We can win respect in the world only if we are strong internally and can banish poverty and unemployment from our country."
9. "The basic idea of governance, as I see it, is to hold the society together so that it can develop and march towards certain goals."
10. "That loyalty to the country is the first thing and loyalty to the government comes next."
11. "It is most regrettable that nuclear energy is being harnessed for destructive purposes."
12. "We must fight for peace bravely as we fought in war."
13. "In the democracy which I believe in, every man is the keeper of his own conscience."
14. "If I were a dictator, religion and state would be separate. I would banish religion from the political domain."
15. "We should stress more on the spread of education."
16. "We must regard agriculture as a matter of national importance."
17. "To us in India, the memories of the great war and the memories of the present sufferings are still fresh."
18. "The strength of a nation lies in the strength of its economy."
19. "The rule of law should be respected so that the basic structure of our democracy is maintained."
20. "The greatest advantage of being a part of a democracy is that it gives the government no right to take away our liberties."
21. "There comes a time in the life of every nation when self-respect is threatened."
22. "I am not ready to be enslaved by any power, and that is the message I want to convey."
23. "We need a second revolution in agriculture to increase productivity."
24. "We must get over the hangover of the feudal mentality."
25. "To develop India is a collective task, not an individual effort."
26. "A nation’s prestige resides in its economic and cultural strength."
27. "In democracy, dissent is an act of faith."
28. "Economic issues are vital for us and it is of the highest importance that we should fight our biggest enemies – poverty and unemployment."
29. "I am convinced that freedom is a moral concept."
30. "The government must see that the weaker sections of the society are given the opportunity to expand and grow."
31. "Self-reliance is the key to true freedom."
32. "Without unity, there is no progress."
33. "There is a great deal of talk about the gap between the rich and the poor. We must fill it up."
34. "I want the poverty line to be eliminated. I want the means of production to be in the hands of the people."
35. "Unity of the nation is the first requirement."
36. "We must work hard and become self-reliant. We must build our strength from within."
37. "A great man is different from an eminent one in that he is ready to be the servant of the society."
38. "Peace and development must be the overriding principle of our relations with each other."
39. "We must not only speak of peace, but also work towards it."
40. "Simplicity is a true form of greatness."
41. "In the fight for freedom, truth must always prevail."
42. "We should not lose faith in ourselves."
43. "There is nothing more dangerous than complacency."
44. "In the long run, the safety of democracy lies in the hands of the people."
45. "Poverty is not just an economic issue, but a social one."
46. "The success of democracy depends on the disciplined conduct of its citizens."
47. "Strength does not come from physical capacity; it comes from an indomitable will."
48. "The success of democracy is in the strength and quality of its human resources."
49. "To achieve victory, unity and discipline are essential."
50. "A country's greatness lies in its capacity to be peaceful and self-reliant."