Jawaharlal Nehru Quotes

But the conflict has not ended and the fight between the two rival forces-capitalism and socialism-goes on. There can be no permanent compromise between the two although there have been, and there may be in the future, temporary arrangements and treaties between the two. Russia and communism stand at one pole, and the great capitalist countries of Western Europe and America stand at the other. Between the two, the liberals, the moderates, and the centre parties are disappearing everywhere.

Sir...In the early hours of this morning Marshal Stalin passed away... When we think of Marshal Stalin, all kinds of thoughts come to...my mind...looking back at these 35 years or so, many figures stand out, but perhaps no single figure has moulded and affected and influenced the history of these years more than Marshal Stalin. He became gradually almost a legendary figure, sometimes a man of mystery, at other times a person who had an intimate bond not with a few but with vast numbers of persons. He proved himself great in peace and in war. He showed an indomitable will and courage which few possess...here was a man of giant stature...who ultimately would be remembered by the way he built up his great country...but the fact remains of his building up that great country, which was a tremendous achievement, and in addition to that the remarkable fact...is that he was not only famous in his generation but...he was in a sense ‘intimate’...with vast numbers of human beings, not only the vast numbers in the Soviet Union with whom he moved in an intimate way, in a friendly way, in an almost family way...So here was this man who created in his life-time this bond of affection and admiration among vast numbers of human eings...But every one must necessarily agree about his giant stature and about his mighty achievements. So it is right that we should pay our tribute to him on this occasion because the occasion is not merely the passing away of a great figure but...in the sense of the ending of a certain era in history...Some...describe him as...[a] gentle person... Marshal Stalin was something much more than the head of a State. He was great in his own right way, whether he occupied the office or not. I believe that his influence was exercised generally in favour of peace... May I also suggest, Sir, that the House might adjourn in memory of Marshal Stalin?

As Schopenhauer says, ‘a man can do what he will, but not will as he will.

Politics and Religion are obsolete. The time has come for Science and Spirituality.

whatever happens in Pakistan, quite clearly our task in India is clear; we must pursue with even greater determination than in the past our efforts at forming a secular State in which men of all communities can walk with their heads high.

Time is not measured by the passing of years but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves.

In times of crisis it is not unnatural for those who are involved in it deeply to regard calm objectivity in others as irrational, short-sighted, negative, unreal or even unmanly. But I should like to make it clear that the policy India has sought to pursue is not a negative and neutral policy. It is a positive and vital policy that flows from our struggle for freedom and from the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Peace is not only an absolute necessity for us in India in order to progress and develop but also of paramount importance to the world. How can that peace be preserved? Not by surrendering to aggression, not by compromising with evil or injustice but also not by the talking and preparing for war! Aggression has to be met, for it endangers peace. At the same time, the lesson of the past two wars has to be remembered and it seems to me astonishing that, in spite of that lesson, we go the same way. The very processes of marshaling the world into two hostile camps precipitates the conflict that it had sought to avoid. It produces a sense of terrible fear and that fear darkens men's minds and leads them to wrong courses. There is perhaps nothing so bad and so dangerous in life as fear. As a great President of the United States said, there is nothing really to fear except fear itself.

You don't change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall.

In the old days when war and its consequences, brutality and conquest and enslavement of a people, were accepted as belonging to the natural order of events, there was no particular need to cover them or justify them from some other point of view. With the growth of higher standards the need for justification has arisen, and this leads to a perversion of facts, sometimes deliberate, often unconscious. Thus hypocrisy pays its tribute to virtue, and a false and sickening piety allies itself to evil deeds.

I do not think there is any necessity at present for our Defence Ministry, or any part of it, to consider possible military repercussions on the Indo-Tibetan frontier. The event is remote and may not arise at all. Any present thought being given to it will affect the balance we are trying to create in India. It may also not remain a secret and that would be unfortunate.

India has neither the resources nor the inclination to send armed assistance to Tibet... We feel India has been ill-repaid for her diplomatic friendliness toward Peking. ... Sending an army is a poor way to maintain autonomy and come to a settlement...

It is right therefore that India should be eager to learn more about Russia. So far her information has been largely derived from subsidised news agencies inimical to Russia, and the most fantastic stories about her have been circulated.

Nothing is perhaps more confusing to the student of Russia than the conflicting reports that come of the treatment of prisoners and of the criminal law. We are told of the Red Terror and ghastly and horrible details are provided for our consumption; we are also told that the Russian prison is an ideal residence where anyone can live in comfort and ease and with a minimum of restraint. Our own visit to the chief prison in Moscow created a most favourable impression on our minds.

No country or people who are slaves to dogma and dogmatic mentality can progress, and unhappily our country and people have become extraordinarily dogmatic and little-minded.

আমাদের এই যুগটাই ভিন্ন জাতের; এটা হচ্ছে মোহভঙ্গের যুগ, সন্দেহ সংশয় আর প্রশ্নজিজ্ঞাসার যুগ। প্রাচীন কালের যে-সব মতামত আর রীতিনীতি ছিল তার অনেকগুলোই এখন আর আমরা মেনে নিতে পারছিনা, তাদের উপরে আর আমাদের বিশ্বাস নেই- এশিয়াতে ইউরোপে আমেরিকাতে সর্বত্রই। অতএব এখন আমরা সন্ধানে ফিরছি নূতন পথের, সত্যের নূতনতর রূপের, আমাদের এই পরিবেশের সঙ্গে যে রূপটির সামঞ্জস্য অধিকতর স্পষ্ট হবে। পরস্পরকে ক্রমাগত প্রশ্ন করছি আমরা, করছি তর্ক বিতর্ক আর ঝগড়া, খাড়া করছি অসংখ্যরকমের 'বাদ' আর দর্শন। সক্রেটিসের যুগের মত আমরাও বাস করছি একটি জিজ্ঞাসার যুগে; কিন্তু সে জিজ্ঞাসার ক্ষেত্র শুধু এথেন্সের মত একটি ক্ষুদ্র নগরীর মধ্যেই সীমাবদ্ধ নয়, তার ক্ষেত্র এখন সমগ্র বিশ্বব্যাপী।

এক-এক সময়ে পৃথিবীর অন্যায় অশান্তি নৃশংসতা দেখে আমরা বিষণ্ন হয়ে যাই। সংশয়ের ছায়ায় অন্ধকার হয়ে ওঠে আমাদের মন- সে অন্ধকার থেকে অব্যাহতির পথ খুঁজে পাইনে। ম্যাথু আর্নল্ডের মতো তখন আমাদেরও মনে হয়, এই পৃথিবীতে আশা বলে কিছু অবশিষ্ট নেই। একটি মাত্র কাজ আছে যা আমরা করতে পারি, সে হচ্ছে পরস্পরের প্রতি সত্য পালন করে চলা।