Lee-way may not be our way, but we could learn

On Sunday Singapore bid a final goodbye to its founder and muchadmired leader Lee Kuan Yew The prime minister broke with tradition and decided to attend the funeral Usually the Indian vicepresident attends state funerals coronations and such events India even declared a dayrsquos mourning for the passing away of Lee Kuan Yew In Singapore PM Modi said ldquoMr Lee Kuan Yew inspired not just South East Asia but all of Asia to believe in its own destinyrdquo Mr Modi has been deeply influenced by Lee Kuan Yewrsquos life and philosophyThe last goodbye Tens of thousands of mourners braved torrential rain howitzers fired a 21gun salute and jet fighters screamed across the sky yesterday in Singapore for the funeral of founding leader Lee Kuan Yew PICAFPYoung Indians probably wonder why India would remember a South East Asian leader with so much sentimentality Not many have any recollection of emotionally charged visits by PM Lee to India or any sepiatinted pictures of PM Nehru and PM Lee bearhugging each other Somewhat like Nehru with Gamal Abdel Nasser and Josip Broz TitoBut PM Lee had deep and sustained links with India He visited India several times had strong bonds with Jawaharlal Nehru and several Indian politicians Almost every Indian who met Lee has been deeply impressed by his clarity of thought and purpose He expected more of India than Indians themselves did Hence he was annoyed and exasperated at times with the slow pace of reforms for Indiarsquos sluggishness for not meeting up to its potential In 2000 he wrote ldquoIndia is a nation of unfulfilled greatness Its potential has lain fallow underusedrdquo Most Indians agreedWho wouldnrsquot Countries east of us were striding ahead riding the economic liberalisation wave and we were caught in coalition governments communal unrest secessionist movement in Kashmir and so forth Lee studied India minutely as he did Chinarsquos growth His advise to India was this India and China should cooperate and compete with each other spurring one another to greater heights India should benchmark itself not just against its own past but against the best in AsiardquoIndians who visited Singapore in the eighties onwards always got that sharp twinge of regret why canrsquot we be like this The citystate is breathtaking I first visited Singapore in 1989 It was my first impression too Of course it was the impatience and ignorance of youth when you donrsquot so much care for answers as questions and impressions And then when you seek answers the burden of experience and reality weighs you down Such is lifeThe Internet is littered with Leersquos quotable quotes For every hagiographic article on Lee there is one that tells you about dictatorship that Singapore learned to live with The western world grudgingly accepted the success of Leersquos model of governance Singapore indeed proved that the western model of democracy might not be the only successful model of governanceLee has spoken extensively on how deeply influenced he was by Nehru and his ideas But the Nehruvian model for India did not match his ideas of what he wanted for Singapore The two leaders respected each otherrsquos opinions and went on to build their nation states Leersquos job was comparatively easier A smaller country fewer people easier to manage He turned a malariainfested swamp into a shining meritocracy He demanded and got honesty in governance strict law enforcement and opportunity without shacklesFormer Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in his eulogy at the funeral said ldquoLee Kuan Yew drove people hard because he had to toughen fledgling Singapore quicklyrdquo Singapore watchers have noted how Lee and his successors did not spend time and effort to ldquowipe every tear from every eyerdquo with comfort care and love Theirs was the lsquodanda approachrsquo You did what was expected of you shirkers and laggards were not ignored or allowed to live onthey were dragged along the path of progress till they agreed to run with all There was no romanticising of poverty and deprivation There was an obsession to provide a corruptionfree political process and clean and safe living conditionsLee Kuan made life liveable for Singaporeans Children walk or cycle to school without fear Women can ride public transport anywhere at any time Families face pressures of plenty of competition for better things in life but not deprivation and wantLeersquos way may not be everybodyrsquos way Political choice and dissent may be exceptionally important in some countries freedoms very valuable Chewing gum and spitting in public areas might be rights you donrsquot want to give upCountries and people governing them make choices Singapore made its choice It was the Lee way And going by the outpouring of grief that one is seeing in Singapore the country loved its founding father without any reservations The next generation has to now write the sequel to Leersquos SingaporeSmita Prakash is Editor News at Asian News International You can follow her on Twitter smitaprakash