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India declares Sunday as a day of mourning for Mr Lee Kuan Yew

SINGAPORE — The Indian government has declared Sunday (March 29) as a day of mourning for Mr Lee Kuan Yew. According to a statement on India’s Ministry of Home Affairs website, the national flag of India will be flown at half-mast throughout the country and there will be no official entertainment.

Banners in tribute of Mr Lee Kuan Yew were put up in Tamil Nadu villages. Photo: Baskaran/CNA

Banners in tribute of Mr Lee Kuan Yew were put up in Tamil Nadu villages. Photo: Baskaran/CNA

SINGAPORE — The Indian government has declared Sunday (March 29) as a day of mourning for Mr Lee Kuan Yew. According to a statement on India’s Ministry of Home Affairs website, the national flag of India will be flown at half-mast throughout the country and there will be no official entertainment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that he will attend Mr Lee’s State Funeral Service tomorrow, reflecting the high regard for Mr Lee in the South Asian superpower nation.

When news broke of Mr Lee’s passing on Monday morning, Mr Modi immediately expressed his condolences.

“A far-sighted statesman and a lion among leaders, Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s life teaches valuable lessons to everyone. News of his demise is saddening,” Mr Modi tweeted.

“In this hour of bereavement, our prayers are with Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s family and the people of Singapore. May his soul rest in peace,” he added.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee also expressed his sympathies on Mr Lee’s passing. “Heartfelt condolences on sad demise of former PM Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore,” tweeted
Mr Mukherjee. “Asia will mourn loss of a towering leader.”

Some villages in the state of Tamil Nadu have put up banners mourning Mr Lee’s passing. There is a sizeable Indian diaspora hailing from Tamil Nadu in parts of South-east Asia, including Singapore, and people there continue to sojourn to Singapore for work.

Though many in the villages have only seen Mr Lee in pictures, they had heard great stories about him. The families look up to Mr Lee as a man who provided them with an opportunity to escape poverty.

A villager said: “Our survival, my survival and my family’s survival, we are all alive today because of Singapore. I went to Singapore at the age of 18 and was able to earn a living by working hard. It’s because of Singapore and Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Goh Chok Tong and Mr Lee Hsien Loong that not only this village but adjoining villages were able to survive.”

Singapore-India relations are underpinned by long-standing cultural and business linkages. According to International Enterprise Singapore statistics, India was Singapore’s 11th largest trading partner and 12th largest export destination in 2013. Total trade between India and Singapore currently stands at more than S$25 billion per year, and Singapore is India’s largest trade and investment partner among South-east Asian countries. This year also marks the 50th year of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India.

Mr Lee has been a tireless champion of Singapore-India ties. He acknowledged India’s geopolitical weight in the region but was not shy of expressing what he thought about one of the world’s most vibrant democracies.

When Mr Lee published From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, he wrote about India’s flaws, both as a civilisation — Mr Lee believed the caste system was inimical to meritocracy, which is the foundation of economic development — and as a new nation-state that he said had been hampered by democratic paralysis.

A five-day state mourning was declared in India when former South African President Nelson Mandela passed away in December 2013. More recently, a one-day state mourning was announced when former Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away in January. AGENCIES

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