Parties come together to pay tribute to Fidel Castro

Mumbai: Leaders across party lines and ideologies came together on Friday to pay tribute to late Cuban leader Fidel Castro. A documentary showcasing events, speeches and thoughts from Castro’s life, followed by an interview of the revolutionary leader by Saeed Naqvi — the only Indian to have ever interviewed him — were screened.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman, ORF, which organised the event, said Castro’s life was worth remembering, taking into account the way he had held sway over Cubans and people across the world for decades and defied American imperialism for decades. He also said “Cuba, a small island with a population of only 12 million, did not — and still does not — have any of the symbols or sources of power that its northern neighbour, the US, loves to flaunt. The only power Fidel Castro and Che [Guevara] had was the power of their heroism and the idea of building a more just world order that animated it.”

He praised Cuba’s excellent record in education and healthcare and said it was a model worth following. He said Cuban doctors had served in humanitarian missions across the world more than any other country recounting examples of the earthquake in Nepal and Ebola Outbreak in Africa.

CPM leader and trade unionist Vivek Monteiro, while recounting incidents from Castro’s life and Cuban history, said Castro always took the right decisions.

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said though he belonged to the right of the Indian political spectrum, Castro has been an inspiration for his generation. He recounted Castro’s famous quote, “Condemn me. It is of no importance. History will absolve me” and said that the speech was widely distributed among Indian citizens during the Emergency. Ratnakar Mahajan of the Congress recounted Jawaharlal Nehru’s first and last meeting with Castro, and how it motivated the Cuban leader, who was just 34 years old then.

B.A. Desai of the India Cuba Friendship Society said Cuba, like many other South American countries, was a playground for imperialists, and Cuba under Castro was the first such “banana republic” to revolt against American imperialists. CPI leader Prakash Reddy said Castro’s demise leaves a huge dent in the global left movement.