Tribute
Nisha Nair EEE
Fidel Castro – The Poor Man ’ s Hero
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz , known around the world as Fidel Castro was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who governed Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959-1976 and as President from 1976- 2008 . He was the first Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961-2011 and was a Marxist – Leninist in his idealism . The socialist reforms under his administration had openly threatened the United States to an extent that their government spent several years and unsuccessful attempts to remove him by assassinations , economic blockages and counter revolutions , including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 .
While at home , Fidel introduced central economic planning and expanded health care and education , internationally he supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups and also sent troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur War , Ogaden War and Angolan Civil War . He was the reason for the Cuba ' s profile on the world stage . Another important part of the social program was the infrastructural changes that came into existence like six hundred miles of roads and monthly target of eight hundred houses to provide for the homeless .
Six hundred and thirty-four assassination attempts including bomb capsules in his camo shoes and food blockages which led to the country living on their infamous pineapples and watermelons for several years , never broke the visionary , the war diverticulitis did . On hearing about his recovery , US President George W Bush said : “ One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away .” Hearing about this , the atheist in Castro replied : “ Now I understand why I survived Bush ’ s plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination , the good Lord protected me .”
In 1983 , when India was hosting the seventh Non-Aligned Summit at Vignan Bhavan in New Delhi , Cuba ' sv strongman Fidel Castro had arrived to handover the chairmanship to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi . He had commented that he was happy and proud to pass the conference gavel to his “ sister ”. But the action that defined the zeitgeist of the 1980 ' s was when Fidel Castro pulled a shocked Indira Gandhi into a warmth embrace before handing over the conference gavel to her . It made all the 140 heads of state present to erupt in applause .
His death on November 25th , 2016 brought out various emotional statements . While Russian President Vladimir Putin described Castro as “ A simple and reliable friend of Russia ”, Narendra Modi , Prime Minister of India termed him “ One of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century and a great friend .”
All in all , he was the person who was feared by one vhalf of the world and respected by the other . He was a revolutionary in his thoughts and a true patriot in his heart .
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