Sir — Venezuela has indeed lost its brave son and the world a wise revolutionary leader in Hugo Chavez. He was the most charismatic leader after Fidel Castro. His real life paralleled Che Guevara and Castro’s, two men whose mantle he hoped to inherit in the 21st century before illness cut that dream short.
It is interesting to note that Mahatma Gandhi was more of a role model for Chavez than Marx was. He prolifically read Gandhi’s writings and occasionally surprised visiting Indian leaders by quoting the Mahatma which, sadly, leaders in India are unable to do.
Although a radical and a virulent anti-imperialist, Chavez used to tell his interlocutors that he was an admirer of Manmohan Singh, although the Prime Minister bonded with the Americans and decisively moved India away from socialism.