A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

“Great teachers emanate out of knowledge, passion and compassion.”

“Writing is my love. If you love something, you find a lot of time. I write for two hours a day, usually starting at midnight; at times, I start at 11.”

“If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”

“Small aim is a crime.”

“No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.”

“The President's post should not be politicised. Once a president is elected, he is above politics.”

“Nations consist of people. And with their effort, a nation can accomplish all it could ever want.”

“Every nation has to follow a certain policy: Commercial, trade, various other types of policies.”

“Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.”

“While children are struggling to be unique, the world around them is trying all means to make them look like everybody else.”

“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.”

“In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.”

“I was willing to accept what I couldn't change.”

“Tell me, why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognise our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?”

“To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.”

“The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation.”

“There are a number of women who have brought about immense change in society.”

“One lesson that every nation can learn from China is to focus more on creating village-level enterprises, quality health services and educational facilities.”

“To become 'unique,' the challenge is to fight the hardest battle which anyone can imagine until you reach your destination.”

“We should remember that there are nations which meet more than 30 to 60% of their power requirements through the nuclear power system.”