Rich tributes were paid to former President K R Narayanan at a meeting organised by leaders of the Indian American Community and diplomats in Washington who described him as an "outstanding statesman."
Indian American community leaders characterised Narayanan as a person who not only posssessed a wealth of knowledge but was always one who was down to earth and in touch with the masses. "Looking back at the late President Narayanan, I was struck by his multi-faceted achievements," India's Ambassador to the United States, Ronen Sen said at the meeting on Sunday. "He became President on the basis of his own merits, his own accomplishments, not because he was a Dalit," Sen stressed, going on to make the point that Narayanan was an "outstanding scholar with a breadth and depth of knowledge on a range of issues."
"India has lost one of its most illustrious sons, an outstanding statesman who did not lose touch with the people of India," the Indian Ambassador said. India's former top diplomat T P Sreenivasan who has served in Washington as the Deputy Chief of the Indian Mission said Narayanan was a product of a system that he had to fight; but he was not a fighter - he was benevolent.
During the course of the lengthy meeting which was compered by Dr Sambhu Banik and John (Sunny) Wycliffe, a message by President George W Bush to the President of India A P J Abdul Kalam was also read out, "President Narayanan's journey from humble beginnings to become India's first Dalit President was an inspiration to people around the world," Bush said in the letter.
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