 "Former PM Manmohan Singh died at the age of 92. File Photo/Reuters")
“History will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament,” former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s words ring true more than ever. The former academic and bureaucrat passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday (December 26) night, leaving a void in Indian politics.
Tributes are pouring in from across the world to mourn the demise of India’s first PM from a religious minority community. Dr Singh, who is remembered as a decent intellectual, played a big role in propelling India’s growth story.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted in his post on X that India is mourning the “loss of one of its most distinguished leaders”.
Let’s take a look at how the soft-spoken leader left an indelible impression on the country.
Manmohan Singh’s rich legacy
Dr Manmohan Singh added many feathers to his cap throughout his life.
He rose from humble beginnings to excel in academics, become the architect of India’s economic reforms and head the country for 10 years – from 2004-2014.
After studying economics at Panjab University, he went on to pursue higher education at Oxford and Cambridge.
His academic career included teaching at Panjab University and later at Delhi School of Economics.
Singh also had a stint in the United Nations between 1966 and 1969.
In 1971, he worked as an economic adviser in the commerce ministry and later as chief economic adviser with the finance ministry. Singh then went on to become a secretary in the finance ministry.
He served as governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 1976-1980.
From 1985 to 1987, Singh was the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.
Heralding India’s economic reforms
Singh’s political ascent started when he became India’s finance minister in 1991.
Reports say that he was unconvinced that the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao wanted him to take over the plum post.
“On the day (Rao) was formulating his Cabinet, he sent his principal secretary to me, saying ’the PM would like you to become the Minister of Finance’. I didn’t take it seriously. He eventually tracked me down the next morning, rather angry, and demanded that I get dressed up and come to Rashtrapati Bhavan for the swearing-in. So that’s how I started in politics,” Singh reportedly told British journalist Mark Tully in 2005.
When Singh became the finance minister, India was on the verge of economic collapse. The country’s foreign exchange reserves were just enough to cover two weeks of imports. The fiscal deficit was close to 8.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
As per The Quint report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposed many conditions, including the opening of the economy, on India in exchange for funds.
To deal with the economic crisis, Singh introduced several reforms, such as liberalisation, privatisation, and opening up the country’s economy.
He cut import taxes, privatised public sector companies and encouraged foreign investment.
Singh transformed the socialist economy of India into an open, market-based economy.
In his maiden speech as finance minister, quoting Victor Hugo, Singh said that “no power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come” – a sign of things to come.
His reforms brought the Indian economy back on track, inflation reduced and growth rates remained high in the 1990s, reported BBC.
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India’s ‘accidental PM’
It is a well-known story that Manmohan Singh was chosen by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to become India’s prime minister in 2004 after she turned down the post.
Singh’s 10-year tenure as PM gave India some crucial laws — the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Food Security Act, the Forest Rights Act, and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.
In 2007, India clocked its highest GDP growth rate of 9 per cent and became the second fastest-growing economy globally, as per The Quint report.
Singh’s first term was also marked by a landmark nuclear deal between India and the United States that ended the world’s nuclear discrimination against India.
Singh risked the survival of his coalition government for the 2008 Indo-US nuclear deal as Left parties had withdrawn support.
It was his government’s schemes that helped India avoid the global recession in 2008-09.
He led the Congress-led UPA to victory in the 2009 general elections, defeating the main rival, the LK Advani-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Singh’s second term as PM from 2009 to 2014 was marred by scandals involving his Cabinet ministers and allegations of corruption.
These controversies fanned the unpopularity of the UPA and are seen as a major reason for its rout in 2014 at the hands of the NDA led by Narendra Modi.
The admiration of world leaders for Singh was visible in 2014 when he left office. Former US President Barack Obama said at the time, “It has been a great pleasure to serve with you. There are very few people in public life that I have admired or appreciated more.”
In his last press conference as prime minister on January 3, 2014, Singh had famously said that “history will be kinder to me”. Today, there is no doubt about that.
With inputs from agencies