India state ‘in deep mourning’
NEW DELHI–A strange phenomenon is occurring in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. As of yesterday, an estimated 67 people had died after learning of the death of their powerful 60-year-old chief minister. Some killed themselves out of despair, others died of shock, according to local news reports.
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s body was discovered Thursday in the tangled wreckage of a U.S.-made Indian army helicopter that crashed a day earlier in the forests of Nallamala. The chief minister was on a flight from the state capital, Hyderabad, to the city of Chittor.
“We are in deep mourning,” P. Chidambaram, India’s home minister, told reporters. Indeed, Reddy was hugely popular in his state where he was known simply as YSR. The doctor and Congress Party stalwart won a second term in office in May and had never lost an election since he entered politics in 1978.
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Mac Says:
A tragic end to a life dedicated to service. I’m not quite sure how committing suicide pays honour to someone but folks in India have a different mindset, I suppose…
Posted on September 5th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
ww Says:
Can you imagine any Canadian politician earning anything close to that kind of esteem? Only in India you say? Pity.
Posted on September 6th, 2009 at 9:58 pm