Remembering Help in Freeing Soviet Hare Krishnas Rendered by Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke
By Sri Prahlada das
News of the peaceful death of former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke on May 16th at the age of 89, has evoked praise of the charismatic leader. Dominating Australian politics in the 1980s, he is credited with introducing universal healthcare, modernising the economy, floating the dollar and of achieving the highest approval ratings of any Australian leader while in office from 1983 to 1991. A lesser known achievement is his 1987 intervention to help free the Hare Krishna devotees from state persecution in the USSR.