The Fact That I Have An Ideology,

I Went Back Into Politics Only When It Was Clear That Things Weren't Going As They Should Have In My Party. I Was Always Arguing, I Argued With Everyone - With My Father, With The Leaders I Had Known Since I Was A Child...and One Day, It Was In 1955, One Of Them Exclaimed, 'you Do Nothing But Criticize! If You Think You Can Correct Things, Correct Them. Go Ahead, Why Don't You Try?' Well, I Could Never Resist A Challenge, So I Tried.

At A Certain Point The Family Moved To Jaipur, Where No Woman Could Avoid The Doli Or Purdah. They Kept Her In The House From Morning To Night, Either Cooking Or Doing Nothing. [my Mother] Hated Doing Nothing, She Hated To Cook. So She Became Pale And Ill, And Far From Being Concerned About Her Health, My Grandfather Said, 'who's Going To Marry Her Now?' So My Grandmother Waited For My Grandfather To Go Out, And Then She Dressed My Mother As A Man And Let Her Go Out Riding With Her Brothers.

It's True That I Refused Foreign Aid. It's True. It Wasn't My Personal Decision, However - It Was The Whole Country That Said No.

All Of A Sudden Inscriptions Appeared On Walls. Signs Appeared. And That 'no' Exploded All Over India, In An Act Of Pride That Surprised Even Me. Then Even The Political Parties, All Of Them, Even The Deputies In Parliament, Said No: It's Better To Die Of Hunger Than Be Taken For A Nation Of Beggars.

My Sons...i Was Crazy About My Sons And I Think I've Done A Super Job In Bringing Them Up.