Singapore's founder

With the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, the world has lost a revolutionary architect. He was, without doubt, the architect of modern Singapore. Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world’, doggedly fits in with this legendary man who shaped the country almost single-handedly. He was an autocrat but certainly not a despot or a dictator.

N. Visveswaran,

Chennai

Lee Kuan Yew proved that it is not the West alone that has the right to inspire the world when it comes to sound infrastructure, the highest quality of middle class life one can expect, and even the lowest degree of corruption. His critics may be uncharitable in describing him as a “dictator running a welfare state” but I feel this title is totally justified as he brought in a discipline that needs to be present in any country in order to make citizens conscious of their rights and duties — something which is totally absent in India.

Ayush Verma,

New Delhi

Having lived in Singapore for a number of years, I know how much Mr. Lee toiled to build the Singapore that one sees today. When asked why he was stepping down from the Prime Minister’s post, especially at a time when Singapore was doing well in the world economy, he said, “The time a person chooses to leave should result in the question ‘why are you leaving?’ rather than ‘Why don’t you quit?’”

When asked why cricket was not popular in Singapore, he said, “Any game played during day time is a national waste of time.” And, when he was asked what he would do to make India a Singapore if he became the Indian Prime Minister, his immediate reply was: “India is almost 300 times the size of Singapore. You need 300 Lee KuanYews to change India.”

M.J. Prasad,

Chennai