Castro,Che,Mandela,Mao,Tito and our very own Netaji
could be classified as revolutionary leaders who took up the armed struggle to free their nations. He was as tall as any of them and his uniqueness is that despite being only 90km away from the US,he survived countless Clouseau like attempts on his life by the CIA and US agents. He also survived because he had the almost total backing of the Cuban people because as one US pres. was told by the CIA,"Castro never lies". Health services was of the highest std. and available free for everyone,far superior to what exists in the US! The fall of the USSR put paid to cheap grain,aid,etc. from the Warsaw Pact and Russia in particular.Cuba has struggled to survive ince then,but thanks to the Castro brothers' leadership has survived,a remarkable achievement.Cuba and Castro was also a great inspiration ( along with India,Yugoslavia,Egypt,Indonesia) to nations of the NAM during the Cold War.
However,Communism in its pure revolutionary form has become an extinct animal.India's Commie parties fail to realise this and have been amrginalised . Adaptation with the energy of the free market is essential for nation's to grow and provide gainful employment for the masses.China is a Commie party dictatorship which is using capitalism and a captive labour force to amass wealth and expand its military. But for smaller states in the Americas,who've suffered great inequality through vicious dictatorships like Pinochet in Chile,El Salvador,etc.,Socialism is alive and kicking.
Cuba in the last decade saw signs of a gradual thaw in its inflexibility,brought bout by Fidel and Raoul.It now has the unthinkable-relations with the US and much hope lies in a further loosening of private capital into the economy.The future of Cuba will have a dramatic effect on the nations of South and Central America,impacting upon the global geopolitical situ. The Chinese have already been making deep inroads into replacing the US as aid-givers around the globe. In the early '80s Fidel Castro handed over the gavel of leadership to Indira G of the NAM summit at Delhi,with a big hug!
Raoul Castro is still there however as Cuban pres. to continue the legacy of his more illustrious brother,but change will inevitably happen.Cuba offers India a great opportunity to engage with as a springboard to other smaller states in the region in Latin America in expanding our relations and influence as we must for the remainder of the 21st century if we are to hold our own against China.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... -icon-dies
Fidel Castro, Cuba's revolutionary icon, dies aged 90 - latest news, Raul Castro and world's reaction and what does it mean for the country
Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90
Chris Graham
26 NOVEMBER 2016
Fidel Castro dies aged 90
Death was announced on state TV by President Raul Castro, his brother
Former leader to be cremated on Saturday
Leaders pay tribute to former president
Fidel Castro, a revolutionary hero - obituary
Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader who built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States and for five decades defied US efforts to topple him, died on Friday. He was 90.
"The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 hours this evening," his brother, President Raul Castro, his brother, announced with a shaking voice on national television.
He ended the announcement by shouting the revolutionary slogan: "Hasta La Victoria Siempre!" (Towards victory, always!)
Castro had been in poor health since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006.
His brother said the revolutionary leader's remains would be cremated early on Saturday, "in compliance with his expressed will."
The bearded Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.
A revolutionary life
He was demonised by the United States and its allies but admired by many leftists around the world, especially socialist revolutionaries in Latin America and Africa.
Transforming Cuba from a playground for rich Americans into a symbol of resistance to Washington, Castro outlasted nine U.S. presidents in power.
He fended off a CIA-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 as well as countless assassination attempts.
His alliance with Moscow helped trigger the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a 13-day showdown with the United States that brought the world the closest it has been to nuclear war.
Wearing green military fatigues and chomping on cigars for many of his years in power, Castro was famous for long, fist-pounding speeches filled with blistering rhetoric, often aimed at the United States.
At home, he swept away capitalism and won support for bringing schools and hospitals to the poor. But he also created legions of enemies and critics, concentrated among Cuban exiles in Miami who fled his rule and saw him as a ruthless tyrant.
In the end it was not the efforts of Washington and Cuban exiles nor the collapse of Soviet communism that ended his rule. Instead, illness forced him to cede power to his younger brother Raul Castro, provisionally in 2006 and definitively in 2008.
Political reaction
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto was among the first leaders to react to the news.
"I lament the death of Fidel Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban revolution and emblematic reference of the 20th Century," he said on Twitter.
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, also posted on Twitter: "Heartfelt condolences on sad demise of Cuba's revolutionary leader, former President & friend of India, Fidel Castro .
President of India ✔ @RashtrapatiBhvn
Heartfelt condolences on sad demise of Cuba's revolutionary leader, former President & friend of India, Fidel Castro #PresidentMukherjee
11:43 AM - 26 Nov 2016 · New Delhi, India
In Britain, Former Labour Cabinet minister and anti-apartheid leader Peter Hain, now Lord Hain, said: "Although responsible for indefensible human rights and free speech abuses, Castro created a society of unparalleled access to free health, education and equal opportunity despite an economically throttling USA siege.
"His troops inflicted the first defeat on South Africa's troops in Angola in 1988, a vital turning point in the struggle against apartheid."
How Havana has reacted
In the capital, the death caught many people by surprise in the early hours of the morning. In Old Havana, people gathered around their radios, listening to state-run stations play revolutionary anthems and recite facts about Castro's life.
Carlos Rodriguez, 15, was sitting in Havana's Miramar neighbourhood when he heard that Fidel Castro had died.
"Fidel? Fidel?" he said as he slapped his head with his hand in shock. "That's not what I was expecting. One always thought that he would last forever. It doesn't seem true."
"It's a tragedy," said Dayan Montalvo, a 22-year-old nurse. "We all grew up with him. I feel really hurt by the news that we just heard."
Havana student Sariel Valdespino said he was "very upset". "Whatever you want to say, he is public figure that the whole world respected and loved."
Mariela Alonso, a 45-year-old doctor, called the retired Cuban leader "the guide for our people."
"There will be no one else like him. We will feel his physical absence," she said.