Academician who taught economics through stories

Gagan K Teja

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 5

A teacher who would teach economics through stories — that is how his students remember him. Former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, Prof HK Manmohan Singh, passed away last night. He was 89.

He was working on his multi-volume memoir. “Three volumes were complete and he was working on the fourth when he suffered a brain stroke,” said his son, Kamaljit Singh, a professor at the university.

Prof HK Manmohan Singh had a long friendship with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“The relationship lasted till his last days. He also visited us at Patiala when he was the Finance Minister,” recalled Kamaljit.

Born in Pakistan, HKManmohan Singh did his postgraduation and doctorate from the London School of Economics in the early 1960s. He taught at the Delhi School of Economics before joining Punjabi University in 1964.

His students recall him as a wonderful teacher. Prof Ranjit Singh Ghuman, former head, Department of Economics, recalls Prof Manmohan Singh as a fine teacher. “A teacher is defined by the quantum of knowledge and delivery. And he was perfect in both,” he recalls.

Prof Lakhwinder Gill, head, Department of Economics, Punjabi University, who was Prof Manmohan Singh’s student for five years, remembers how he would make teaching more interactive by using colourful chalk sticks.

Gill recalled that he would teach original contributors instead of textbooks. Former Inspector General of Police Paramjit Singh Gill said he owed his career to “Dr HK, my biggest guiding force. In fact, he is the one who motivated me to take admission in Masters in Economics at the last moment even as I was already standing in a queue for submitting my fee for MA English course”.

“I had applied in MA Economics as a standby but when Dr HK saw my marks, he said I should join the Economics Department. My father was an English teacher, but I chose economics. He used to teach me micro economics, and till date I haven’t come across a more dedicated, intelligent and smart teacher,” he said.

“When I was the Vice-Chancellor, he was a professor there. He was found in the library till his last days. He was a fine teacher, who will always be missed,” said Prof Sardara Singh Johl, Chancellor of Central University, Bathinda.

Prof HKManmohan Sin-gh’s work Demand Theory and Economic Calculation in a Mixed Economy, published by Macmillan in1979, is immensely popular among economists.