#RIPNelsonMandela: Twitter pays tribute to the anti-apartheid leader

Nelson Mandela, the first African man to become the President of South Africa and the person responsible for the downfall of the apartheid system, passed away today. He was 95-years-old and struggling with a lung infection for some time.

For the world, he is perhaps the one leader after Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, who had a global appeal. And apart from Mother Teresa, he is the only person not born in India, to have won the Bharat Ratna.

Twitter has been overwhelmed after his passing away and the hashtag #RIPNelsonMandela is the top worldwide trends and in India today. According to Twitter's iOS app, there have been 713.5k tweets till now around his passing away.

This picture shows a framed image of former South African president Nelson Mandela as people pay tributes following his death. AFP[/caption]

It's not just Twitter but Facebook as well where it's unlikely that your NewsFeed isn't flooded with posts about Madiba passing away. (He was fondly called Madiba). Pictures with quotes attributed to Mandela have also flooded Twitter. Twitter's official handle also tweeted about Mandela's death quoting him, "..to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others..." and followed it up with a picture Mandela.

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Here are some of the tweets remembering Mandela: