Mr. Manmohan Singh, Gentleman Politician: The original Mr. Clean in Indian politics, Dr. Singh would be best remembered as the person who opened up India’s economy in 1991 as Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s trusted Finance Minister.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 92, passed away late on Thursday (December 26, 2024), at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Dr. Singh retired as member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Rajasthan, in February this year. Before this, he represented Assam in the Upper House for six terms since 1991.
Showering praise on his last day in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him an “inspirational example”.
Described as a reluctant politician, the high point of Dr. Singh’s 10-year long Prime Ministership was his handling of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.
The economist-turned-politician almost single-handedly turned the tables on the Left parties — providing outside support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance — by securing the support of Samajwadi Party (SP) in a crucial trust vote in July 2008 over the India-U.S. nuclear deal.
Until then, relations between the Congress and SP was one of suspicion and distrust as Mulayam Singh Yadav had reneged on his promise of supporting a Congress-led government in 1996 after the fall of the 13-day old Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
However, the original Mr. Clean in Indian politics, Dr. Singh would be best remembered as the person who opened up India’s economy in 1991 as Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s trusted Finance Minister.
If his prescription to deal with the severe economic crisis changed Indian trajectory in 1991, Dr. Singh’s taking over as the country’s premier in 2004 was also turning point for India’s foreign policy.
Slowly, but surely, there was a gradual departure from the Nehruvian approach of non-alignment as his government sought to forge ties with super powers including United States on a more equal footing.
Born in Gah in undivided Punjab (now in Pakistan) on September 26, 1932, Dr. Singh’s long and illustrious career is a testament to the spirit of hard work that people affected by Partition have often displayed.
A brilliant student who had a first class degree in Economics from Cambridge University and a DPhil from Oxford in the early 1960s, Dr. Singh had earned a reputation as an economist and served in several top institutions.
Before he became Finance Minister in 1991, at the age of 58, he had held every top economic job: Chief Economic Advisor; Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; Reserve Bank of India Governor and the Union Finance Secretary.
His ability to steer the country’s economy in the 1990s out of its worst crisis and political statesmanship to put India into the prestigious Nuclear Club won Dr. Singh many admirers internationally.
In 2010, former U.S. President Barrack Obama, on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Toronto (Canada) praised Dr. Singh’s deep knowledge.