A great visionary

Lee and his model of progress remain part of India’s development discourse, judging the way leaders from Modi to Chandrababu Naidu and Chandrashekar Rao have flocked to the city state for ideas, investment and, perhaps, inspiration

Who was this man who befriended Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and whom subsequent Indian Prime Ministers, from Narasimha Rao to Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi admired?

Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding father and its longest serving Prime Minister, one of the most outstanding men of the last century, has departed, aged 91, leaving a lasting legacy of turning a small city state into a global economic powerhouse. A visionary, he was a ruthless pragmatist who believed in merit and discipline being the basis of progress and opportunity.

His support to Indira Gandhi’s imposition of the Emergency was something many Indians and democrats elsewhere found unpalatable. He neither loved India nor hated it, but did have great expectations that, in his eyes, remained largely unfulfilled. Indeed, he called India “a nation of unfulfilled greatness.” He was bold and critical in his appreciation and attacks as only a friend and well-wisher would.

It took him long, though, to acknowledge that India was too large and diverse to be put in a development strait jacket. He accepted the complexities, long after India set on the course of economic liberalisation, comparing India’s 20-plus languages compared to China, where 90 per cent of the population speaks a single language. In return, India and Indians admired him and his Singapore success. That Singapore could not be replicated in India was the talk during the socialist era, but no longer so, which is a welcome change.

Lee and his model of progress remain part of India’s development discourse judging the way leaders from Modi to Chandrababu Naidu and Chandrashekar Rao have flocked to the city state for ideas, investment and perhaps, inspiration, with varying results, when it comes to emulating them. It is heartening to note that Singapore government has made special arrangement to assist Andhra Pradesh in building the new capital.

To Lee must go the credit of bringing back India into Southeast Asian fold, resuming old ties that had been neglected during the cold war era. His help has been tremendous since India, under Narasimha Rao, conceived the “Look East Policy” that, after two decades-plus of hopeful run, has been converted into “Act East Policy.” India joined the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) after spurning it during its birth. Lee helped bring India into the fold.

Between Communist China and a democratic India, Lee saw India as a natural partner. Singapore looked to India for security cover even as the British were withdrawing from the region. But India did not respond. His famous words were: “ASEAN like a Boeing, one wing is India, the other is China. They must fly in tandem to keep ASEAN afloat.” The words ring true – and not just for ASEAN, considering the competitive, if not confronting, nature of the race India and China are engaged in South and Southeast Asia.

By Mahendra Ved