Atal Bihari Vajpayee Death Anniversary: 10 famous quotes by former PM

"If India is not secular, India is not India at all", former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee once said. Today is the third death anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- one of the most loved Prime Ministers of India and an iconic leader. He served thrice as the Prime Minister and framed some key policies that changed the face of the Indian economy.

As the nation remembers Vajpayee -- 'the man of the masses', on his third death anniversary, we take a look at 10 motivating quotes of the former Prime Minister:

I have a vision of India-an an India free of hunger and fear, an India free of illiteracy and want.
You can change friends but not neighbours.
Poverty is multidimensional. It extends beyond money incomes to education, health care, political participation, and advancement of one's own culture and social organization.
The cycle of being and not being will continue till eternity, So will our illusion that we are and we will be.
Governments will come and go, Parties will form and break, but this country should remain.
India has no dearth of brave young men and women and if they get the opportunity and help then we can compete with other nations in space exploration and one of them will fulfil their dreams.
My Lord, Never let me climb so high That I am unable to embrace another stranger, Deliver me ever from such arrogance!
We hope the world will act in the spirit of enlightened self-interest.
If you do not like anything in a particular book, then sit and discuss it. Banning a book is not a solution. We have to tackle it ideologically.
Our nuclear weapons are meant purely as a deterrent against nuclear adventure by an adversary.