Late and lamented
Many prominent figures passed away in 2016. Here's a look back at them
MUFTI MOHAMMAD SAYEED | Late Jammu and Kashmir chief minister
12 January 1936-7 January 2016
"If we can speak to Pakistan, why can't we talk to our own people?"
PURNO AGITOK SANGMA | Former Lok Sabha speaker
1 September 1947-4 March 2016
"Pranab too intelligent. Try me [for president]."
J. JAYALALITHAA | Former Tamil Nadu chief minister
24 February 1948-5 December 2016
"There is no alternative to Jayalalithaa."
(India Today, April 30, 1987)
MRINALINI SARABHAI | Noted danseuse and Padma Bhushan recipient
11 May 1918-21 January 2016
"Creative activity is a presentation in understandable terms of what we are, a picture of man's inner aspirations, joys and sorrows."
(India Today, April 30, 1987)
MAHASWETA DEVI | Writer and social activist
14 January 1926-28 July 2016
"I belong to India. It's what gives me pride. If my mother was poor, skeletal and couldn't give me food, I would still be proud to call her my mother."
(India Today, August 18, 1997)
M. BALAMURALIKRISHNA | Carnatic musician
6 July 1930-22 November 2016
"Classical music is a perennially flowing river and nothing can affect its flow. No one needs to worry about Indian music. It is forever."
FIDEL CASTRO | Former president of Cuba
13 August 1926-25 November 2016
"The revolution is a dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters."
MUHAMMAD ALI | Boxer
17 January 1942-3 June 2016
"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was."
SYED HAIDER RAZA | Painter
22 February 1922-23 July 2016
"It is a man and a woman coming together. Either they fight or they make love. Whatever style one may have, this relationship of colours remains true, remains the geometry of life."
(India Today, March 9, 2015)
LT GEN J.F.R. JACOB | 1971 war hero, former governor of Punjab and Goa
1923-13 January 2016
"A hero to my mind is someone who does not show fear. When you are a leader of men, you rise above your fears and lead by personal example."
(India Today, December 27, 2010)
