End of an Era: Remembering a Legend – Former Indian PM Passes Away at 92

Former Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, passed away at the age of 92.

Singh held the position of one of India’s longest-serving prime ministers and was regarded as the architect behind significant liberalizing economic reforms, serving as premier from 2004-2014 and previously as finance minister.

Reports indicate that he was hospitalized in the capital, Delhi, after his health began to decline.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those who honored Singh on Thursday, stating on social media that “India grieves the loss of one of its most illustrious leaders”.

Modi remarked that Singh’s “intellect and modesty were consistently evident” during their meetings and that he had “worked tirelessly to enhance the lives of the populace” during his tenure as prime minister.

Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and a member of the Congress Party, expressed that Singh was “truly egalitarian, wise, determined, and brave until his last day”.

Her brother Rahul, who leads the Congress, mentioned he had “lost a mentor and advisor”.

Singh was the first Indian leader since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full first term and marked the first Sikh to occupy the nation’s highest office. He publicly apologized in parliament for the 1984 riots during which approximately 3,000 Sikhs lost their lives.

However, his second term was overshadowed by a series of corruption allegations that plagued his administration. Many assert that these scandals significantly contributed to the Congress party’s overwhelming defeat in the 2014 general elections.

Born on September 26, 1932, in a remote village in the Punjab region of undivided India, Singh’s hometown lacked both water and electricity.

After completing his studies at Panjab University, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge and subsequently obtained a DPhil from Oxford.

While studying at Cambridge, Singh faced financial difficulties, as described by his daughter, Daman Singh, in a book detailing her parents’ lives.

“His academic fees and living costs amounted to roughly £600 per annum. The scholarship from Panjab University provided him with around £160. He had to rely on his father for the remainder. Manmohan was judicious about his expenses. Subsidized meals in the mess hall were relatively affordable at two shillings and sixpence.”

Daman Singh recalled that her father was “utterly incapable in domestic tasks and couldn’t even boil an egg, let alone turn on the television”.

Singh gained political prominence as India’s finance minister in 1991, assuming the role as the nation faced impending bankruptcy.

His unforeseen appointment crowned a lengthy and distinguished career as an academic and civil servant – he acted as an economic advisor to the government and ascended to the position of governor of India’s central bank.

During his inaugural address as finance minister, he famously quoted Victor Hugo, stating that “no force on Earth can halt an idea whose time is ripe”.

This marked the beginning of an ambitious and unprecedented economic reform initiative: he reduced taxes, devalued the rupee, privatized state-owned enterprises, and promoted foreign investment.

As a result, the economy rejuvenated, industries revived, inflation was controlled, and growth rates consistently soared during the 1990s.

Manmohan Singh was acutely conscious of his absence of a political foundation. “It is nice to be a statesman, but in a democracy, you must first secure victories in elections,” he remarked once.

In his attempt to secure a position in India’s lower chamber in 1999, he faced defeat. Instead, he took a seat in the upper chamber, appointed by his own Congress party.

A similar fate unfolded in 2004, when Singh was initially designated as prime minister after Congress leader Sonia Gandhi declined the role—reportedly to shield the party from harmful critiques regarding her Italian heritage. However, critics contended that Sonia Gandhi was the actual authority behind the scenes while he served as prime minister, suggesting he was never genuinely in control.

His foremost accomplishment during his initial five-year term was liberating India from nuclear seclusion by negotiating a significant agreement that ensured access to U.S. nuclear technology.

However, this agreement came at a cost—the Communist allies of the government withdrew their backing in response to protests against it, compelling Congress to regain lost support by aligning with another party amidst accusations of vote-buying.

As a facilitator of consensus, Singh oversaw a coalition comprised of often challenging, assertive, and potentially unruly regional partners and supporters.

While he garnered admiration for his principles and intelligence, he also gained a reputation for being gentle and indecisive. Some detractors argued that the pace of reform decelerated and that he could not replicate the momentum he had established as finance minister.

Following Singh’s leadership that led Congress to a second, substantial electoral win in 2009, he pledged that the party would “rise to the occasion”.

Yet, the luster quickly faded, and his subsequent term became notorious primarily for adverse events: multiple scandals involving his cabinet members that reportedly cost the nation billions of dollars, a parliament hindered by dissenters, and extensive policy inertia that led to a significant economic recession.

LK Advani, a prominent figure within the opposing BJP party, labeled Singh as India’s “most feeble prime minister”.

In defense of his administration, Manmohan Singh asserted that his government had operated with “maximum dedication and commitment for the nation and its populace”.

Singh embraced the practical foreign policies initiated by his two predecessors.

He sustained the peace dialogue with Pakistan—although this initiative was obstructed by assaults attributed to Pakistani militants, culminating in the armed and bomb attack in Mumbai in November 2008.

He endeavored to resolve the border contention with China by facilitating an agreement to reopen the Nathu La pass into Tibet, which had been closed for over four decades.

Singh amplified financial assistance for Afghanistan and became the inaugural Indian leader to visit the nation in nearly three decades.

He also provoked anger among numerous opposition figures by seemingly severing ties with India’s long-standing ally, Iran.

An erudite former scholar and official, he was recognized for his modesty and consistently maintained a discreet presence. His social media profile was primarily characterized by mundane posts and had a small following.

A man of few phrases, his tranquil demeanor nonetheless garnered him numerous admirers.

When addressing inquiries regarding a coal scandal linked to the illicit distribution of licenses valued at billions of dollars, he justified his reticence on the matter by stating it was “preferable to thousands of responses”.

In 2015, he was called to appear in court to address accusations of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and corruption-associated offenses. A distressed Singh informed journalists that he was “open for judicial examination” and that “the truth will come to light”.

Following his tenure as prime minister, Singh remained highly involved with contemporary issues as a senior member of the principal opposition Congress party, despite his increasing age.

In August 2020, he shared with the BBC in a rare discussion that India needed to undertake three measures “without delay” to mitigate the economic repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak, which had plunged the nation’s economy into a recession.

He stated that the government should offer direct financial support to citizens, ensure availability of capital for enterprises, and rectify the financial sector.

History will commemorate Singh for facilitating India’s emergence from economic and nuclear seclusion, although some historians might argue that he should have retired sooner.

“I sincerely believe that history will be more generous to me than the present-day media, or indeed, the opposition parties in parliament,” he conveyed to an interviewer in 2014.

Singh is survived by his spouse and three daughters.