Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India in May 2004-a position he had held for a continuous ten years thereafter. The soft-spoken economist, credited with the nation’s landmark economic reforms in 1991 during his stint as Finance Minister, had not been many people’s first guess for the post, which many had presumed rightly belonged to Sonia Gandhi herself.
But Gandhi said something else – though only 14 long years later and at a function in Mumbai in March 2014: “I knew my limitations. I knew Manmohan Singh would be a better Prime Minister.”
Questions of course remained as to whether she was hurt by the criticism of her Italian parentage. Would Dr. Singh have made it to the prime ministership if Rajiv Gandhi had not been assassinated in 1991? Did the misgivings of her children over her safety prevail upon her? While these questions remained, Gandhi decided to go with her instincts and supported Singh.
During Singh’s term, there was a share of achievements and controversies. He was under constant attack by the opposition, more so by the BJP. Many critics labeled him a “puppet” Prime Minister, but Singh never spoke to counter those criticisms; he spoke about the country and the people.
His legacy consists of a sound economic foundation, the nuclear deal between India and the United States, rural job schemes, and the Right to Education Act. All these works gave a very solid platform to his successor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the other hand, the labels he suffered in his service are “silent PM,” “reluctant PM,” and “accidental PM.” Not being disheartened by the criticism, he left the history to judge his career. He once said in 2014, “I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or, for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament.
Dr. Manmohan Singh died at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences late on Thursday, aged 92. Tributes flowed in, not just from the Congress party to which he belonged but also across the political divide to the BJP, with leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leading the reactions.
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi led mourners, having earlier termed Singh an “inspiration to lawmakers.” The rest of the world was not left behind in their good words about him, either: former world leaders such as Barack Obama and Angela Merkel called him a scholar and a gentleman. As India mourns the loss of its towering figure, history is apt to remember the immense imprint Singh left on the country and across the world.
