Sinnathamby rajaratnam biography of mahatma gandhi
•
Letter to Mr S. Rajaratnam, my mentor and teacher, Singapore News & Top Stories – The Straits Times
Dear Mr Rajaratnam,
You have been a strong and silent source of inspiration for me all my life, pushing me to go beyond the normal boundaries and comfort zones that we would like to omslag ourselves in.
Your enormous political courage was the biggest source of inspiration. You displayed it most fiercely when you took on the virtual mission impossible of riding the communist tiger, with your political comrades, especially Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Keng Swee. This dangerous alliance with the communists in Singapore was necessary in the struggle to free Singapore from British colonial rule. The risks were formidable. Until then, virtually all the non-communist parties who rode on the communist tiger ended up being eaten by the tiger.
You saw what happened in Eastern Europe in the 1950s. Bulgaria’s Nikola Petkov, whose Agrarian party was part of the Fatherland Front coalit
•
Keynote Address at the 13th International Conference on South Asia - Speech by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Home Affairs
Your Excellency, Ambassador Gopinath Pillai, Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies
Your Excellency, Mr Milinda Moragoda, Founder, Pathfinder Foundation; and former Cabinet Minister of Sri Lanka
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
1. Thank you for inviting me to the 13th International Conference on South Asia. The theme of today’s conference is “Politics in a Changing South Asia”, and how technology is transforming this landscape. It is a timely discussion.
2. In many societies today, divisive discourse exacerbated by the internet and social media have become one of the most intractable challenges. Such discourse now traverses national boundaries with great ease. This has profound implications for politics everywhere.
3. Among the
•