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World unites to remember the icon
Shared strong bond with India
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Nelson Mandela with his family members on his 93rd birthday. A AP/PTI file photo
Mandela’s life
His days...
WTO allows subsidy on staple food crops
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World unites to remember the icon
Washington/London, Dec 6 Mandela, South Africa’s first elected black president, died early today, at his home in Houghton, a suburb of Johannesburg, following a lengthy illness. He was 95. “Our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation, has departed,” South African President Jacob Zuma said in a televised address to the nation. “Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” he said. Rich tributes poured in from across the globe as world leaders paid their homages to the respected statesman. Describing himself as one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Mandela, Obama mourned his death and said the world was unlikely to see a leader like him again. “I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s life. My very first political action — the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics was a protest against apartheid,” Obama told reporters soon after he was informed about Mandela’s death. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council also mourned Mandela’s demise, saying the South African leader was a “giant for justice” and a human inspiration who made great personal sacrifices in his lifelong fight against racial oppression. “Nelson Mandela was a singular figure on the global stage, a man of quiet dignity and towering achievement, a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration. I am profoundly saddened by his passing,” Ban said in his condolence message. Indians living abroad mourned the death of Mandela, who in his lifetime had said that Mahatma Gandhi was his inspiration. PM Manmohan Singh, in condoling Mandela’s death hailed him as a “true Gandhian”. British PM David Cameron paid a rich tribute to Mandela, saying, "the brightest light of our world has gone out". — PTI
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Shared strong bond with India
Johannesburg, December 6 In fact when he was released from the prison in 1990, India conferred him with the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honour, even before he got the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993. An avowed Gandhian, Madiba, as Mandela was affectionately known around the world, always praised Gandhi for his principles of “Satya and Ahimsa” and followed his philosophy. “The Mahatma is an integral part of our history because it is here that he first experimented with truth; here that he demonstrated his characteristic firmness in pursuit of justice; here that he developed Satyagraha as a philosophy and a method of struggle,” Mandela said at an unveiling of Gandhi Memorial in South Africa in 1993. After his release in prison, where he spent years for his anti-apartheid efforts, Mandela often visited India and invited Indian dignitaries to South Africa. He will be remembered as much as an Indian leader and an inspirational figure in India. Whenever Mandela visited India he considered it a pilgrimage to the land of his political guru. He said India had great leaders and great people, a place that he will always admire. Indian leaders pay tributes
President Pranab Mukherjee mourned his death, saying, “President Mandela was a statesman, world leader and icon of inspiration of humanity. He was a great friend of India and his contribution for strengthening the close ties between our two countries will be always remembered.” In his reaction, Vice President Hamid Ansari said, “I am deeply saddened at the passing away of President Nelson Mandela. Speaker Meira Kumar: My visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years as like a pilgrimage. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj said, “The footprints left by Mandela cannot be washed away by time.” Congress President Sonia Gandhi said, “Madiba, as he was fondly called, was a towering figure of our times, an icon of human strength and dignity in the face of injustice.” |
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‘Madiba’ belongs to the world. We’re overwhelmed: Family
Johannesburg, December 6 “I am sincerely grateful for the national and international support that our family received during Madiba’s (Mandela’s clan name) long health challenges. We in the family recognise that Madiba belongs not only to us, but to the entire world,” said Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, in a statement, the first public comment from the former president’s family since his death. “The messages we have received since the last night have heartened and overwhelmed us. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to the South African government, the African
National Congress and the doctors in charge of Madiba’s health during all his long health challenges,” he said. Mandla said, “Mandela is an embodiment of strength, struggle and survival, principles that are cherished by humanity.” “As a grandfather, we have all known him as a kind-hearted, generous and wise person who was always prepared to offer us advice on how to be good members of our communities.” “All that I can do is thank God that I had a grandfather who loved and guided all of us in the family,” said Mandla. “We are now preparing to celebrate his contribution to this country, to the world and to our family. Celebrating his long life is the best accolade we can give him. Celebrating his contribution to society will make him smile in his resting place. We look forward to continuing our interaction with him as one of our beloved ancestors,” Mandla said.
— PTI Private life
Six names! Though the world knew him as Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero had five other names. At birth he was given the name Rolihlahla Mandela by his father, Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Henry. The name “Nelson” first made an appearance when he was at a primary school. In Africa, he is commonly referred to as Madiba, the name of the Thembu clan to which he belongs. He is also referred to by many as simply “Tata”. The Xhosa language offers another term of endearment for Mandela. “Khulu” is the shortened word for “uBawomkhulu,” which means “grandfather.” At the age of 16, he was given the name of “Dalibhunga”. — PTI
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Mandela’s life
Political thrust
Post-apartheid
Awards
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WTO allows subsidy on staple food crops
Bali, December 6 After burning the midnight oil and tough negotiations over the past four days in the face of India's unrelenting stand on the food security issue, the 159-member World Trade Organization
(WTO) reached a historic agreement that will boost global trade by $1 trillion. The deal allows nations such as India to fix a Minimum Support Price
(MSP) for farm produce and to sell staple grains to the poor at subsidised rates. It also permits countries to store foodgrains to meet contingency requirements. "A great day for India, I am more than happy...India has clinched WTO deal for the farmers and poor of the world," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told PTI after the final round of negotiations. The draft agreement, which will protect the right to food and allow India to go ahead with its $20 billion food security scheme, is expected to be adopted by the plenary later in the day. “It’s a victory for Indian farmers and farmers of the developing world. It is also recognition of the right of developing nations for public stock-holding of food grains to ensure food security for their citizens,” Sharma said.
— PTI |
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Death toll in Europe storm rises to six Cars stranded in a traffic jam in Germany on Friday. AFP Indian to be sued for selling Shiva idol in Aus Indian cabbie jailed in Australia for rape
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Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Mvezo village, Transkei, South Africa, in 1918. His father was a chief of the Thembu people
Warsaw: