"BBC News:1950: India becomes a republic, BBC News, 26 January 2005"

“Today, for the first time in our long and chequered history, we find the whole of this vast land... brought together under the jurisdiction of one constitution and one union which takes over responsibility for the welfare of more than 320 million men and women who inhabit it.”

“We often commit mistakes. Our steps falter, our tongues falter and slip and he who had no occasion to withdraw what he once said or was undone what he once did.”

“He had a very rich background and belonged to a scholarly family.”

“He was a simple person, a soft spoken personality, with a reserved temperament. He summed up about his own life work himself 'from a lawyer I became a law breaker, and finally a law maker'.”

“He organized the much talked about Salt Satyagraha in the state of Bihar.”

“I feel assured in my mind that your personality will help to soothe the injured souls and bring peace and unity into an atmosphere of mistrust and chaos.”