Man of exceptional intellect, unparalleled humility
Dr Manmohan Singh’s very sad passing away denotes the end of a truly rare species of political leadership which was marked by exceptional intellectual capability, honesty, transparency and unparalleled humility.
A man of few words, he heard everyone, high and low, and tackled the most complex issues by taking his own decisions, which best served the national interest.
Years after Dr Singh returned to India, I had the privilege of having as my tutor a very eminent Economics Professor with whom Dr Manmohan Singh had done his doctoral studies at Oxford University. Dr Little and his good lady never tired of telling everyone that he was an outstanding economist, among the best who had studied at that university. He had an equally iconic reputation at Cambridge University.
In my career as a civil servant, I had the good fortune of working with Dr Singh when he was the Union Finance Minister during the most difficult period when the country was compelled to mortgage its gold reserves. I served, successively, as Defence and Home Secretary, and had to be daily at his office door, literally begging for some financial relief for the departments in which I worked.
Dr Singh will be remembered for his deep commitment to national interests. As the father of India’s economic reforms under then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in the early 1990s, Dr Singh’s pursuit in unleashing India’s entrepreneurial spirit as PM—the so-called “animal spirits”—protected India in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. His outreach to the US, despite opposition by his own party, to sign the civil nuclear deal brought India to international attention as a responsible power.
His dedication to improving ties across India’s neighbourhood was exceptional; people-to-people ties were enormously improved, especially between India and Pakistan, despite the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which he had no hesitation placing at the door of the Pakistani military establishment. I had the good fortune of again serving with Dr Singh when he was the PM and I was appointed the Governor of J&K.
Without seeking any publicity, at any time of his long and distinguished career as a civil servant and later as a Union Minister and Prime Minister, Dr Singh always stood firm as a rock in pursuing the ethical path, even if he got into trouble with the political party he represented. He shall be remembered with adulation for the decades to come.
My wife and I send to Smt Gursharan Kaur and all in the family our heartfelt sympathy and pray that the Lord gives them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.
