Most Comprehensive Obituary penned down by senior journalist A J PHILIP..
AJ Philip
Unlike the death of many political leaders in recent times, the death of Dr Manmohan Singh has saddened me a lot.
Of course, there is no reason to lament his death as he was 92, twelve years more than what the Bible prescribes: “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.”
You may ask me why I am sad that a 92-year-old person is called to eternal rest.
His biographer and second daughter, Daman Singh, asked him why Gandhi’s assassination affected him so much. He answered, “That is very difficult to say…I felt a personal loss.” If someone were to ask me this question, I would give her much the same answer. The former PM had explained to his daughter that Gandhi had fought for “India’s freedom. For independence.” He too did a lot for our country.
Few politicians have been as misunderstood as Dr Manmohan Singh. He was born in a small village, Gah, in what was West Punjab in the autumn of 1932. The baby was taken to the local gurdwara for the naming ceremony. The granthi opened the sacred book, and the first letter he found was “M,” and he was named Manmohan.
He lost his mother at a young age, and he had a father who visited him only twice in 12 years. It was his grandparents who brought him up. They were not rich either, but they ensured that he received the best education. For him, best education did not mean costly education. He was studious and a good grasper.
He was noticed when, in the Class VIII board examination, he topped in the school and stood third in the whole North West Frontier Province. Wherever he studied, he always secured the first position. He was fearless in many respects. When communal riots that preceded and followed the Partition hit his place, he continued to go to a library in the Muslim locality, where he had many Muslim friends.
Even when he had to leave his native place, he did not harbour any ill-will for the Muslims, who suffered in equal measure. However, when his daughter asked him whether he ever wanted to return to Gah, his answer was an emphatic No. Because his grandfather was murdered there!
On the subject of education, there has seldom been a head of government who was as educationally qualified as him. Perhaps the only comparable leader was Václav Havel (1936–2011), the former president of the Czech Republic. Small wonder that he commanded respect wherever he went, be it the White House in Washington or the Chancery in Germany. They sought his views and accepted them.
Manmohan Singh had nothing else to impress the world than his intellect, honesty, and truthfulness. He wore simple dress and a blue turban. Since the colour remained the same, nobody would have noticed that he was wearing the same turban for several days. When people flaunt their Mont Blancs, he always used a Rs 10 Reynolds pen, which coincidentally matched his turban.
The first time I interacted with him was when I was invited to a meeting at Hotel Maurya in the mid-1990s. Though I did not have to pay for entrance, the invitees had to pay a fee. Dr Manmohan Singh spoke about opening the economy and the ending of the Licence Raj, though he might not have used these terms. He spoke like a teacher, not a politician, explaining every point using similes.
He could have opted for the IAS, but he preferred academics. It is a different matter that he eventually became the preeminent administrator. While he was Governor of the Reserve Bank, he was given a residential phone, where he kept a notebook in which his wife and daughters could note down the numbers they called so that he could pay for it from his pocket.
I have heard such a story only about the great engineer Vishveswarayya, who used to keep two kerosene lamps—one for official work and another for his personal reading. His birthday is celebrated as Engineers’ Day. When the biography Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan came out, the author was interviewed by Karan Thapar. To most of his questions, her stock answer was, “For the answer, you have to ask my father.” The family was not privy to any official secrets.
All three daughters excelled in their own fields, but they did not interfere in his work. Nor did they become power brokers, unlike the family members of several politicians.
My wife’s nephew was Gursharan Kaur’s personal security officer. He accompanied her on all her travels. The code word the SPG used for her was Ammachi, the term used for mother in Malayalam. She was so caring that when he lost his balance outside her bedroom and was rushed to the hospital, she kept calling him to inquire about his condition.
She is a musician. When Dr Manmohan Singh first met her, the first question he asked her was, “What grade did you have in BA?” She said, “Second class.” He verified it before accepting her as his partner. She is a trained musician. I wondered what he would have done if she answered “Third Class”.
As an economist, he knew the value of verification. The subject he chose for his PhD was trade balance. When he went to Cambridge, his teacher in Punjab University gave him a recommendation letter which, inter alia, said he was a “gentleman.” How right the choice of word was!
Manmohan Singh was a Chandigarh person who wanted to settle down in City Beautiful. He knew that when the city was built by Swiss architect Le Corbusier, the Prime Minister wrote in a letter to him that India did not have the money to pay a salary befitting his status. The Indian state had to set up everything—from factories to railways to dams—as the private sector was non-existent.
But by the nineties, he knew it was time to end the licence raj and let market forces play their part. He had a visionary Prime Minister to let him unleash the economic liberalisation which allows me to go to the showroom and buy a car—from BMW to Maruti 800—unlike in the past when one had to wait for years after booking a Bajaj scooter.
Alas, the Congress failed to cash in on the economic liberalisation, so much so that in the next election, the party was trounced. I felt bad that my vote could not save him from a defeat in South Delhi.
It was pure luck that brought him back to power—this time as Prime Minister—in 2004. Many say that he should have contested elections, split the Congress, and ruled. They were not his friends. He knew his limitations and never contemplated biting the hand that fed him. He was born a gentleman, lived a gentleman, and died a gentleman!
He has much to take credit for: the Right to Education, the Right to Food, the Right to Information, the Aadhaar Card, the Employment Guarantee Scheme, GST, and many others. The nuclear deal he signed with the US removed the pariah status India had vis-à-vis nuclear powers. Today, we can scout for uranium and other key technologies and materials wherever they are available.
Dr Manmohan Singh made one significant statement: “I hope when history is written, it will be kinder to me.” The Opposition, especially the BJP, was able to instil in the minds of the people that his government was corrupt. The 2G scam was a figment of the imagination of some, for in the 11 years since Modi came to power, not one person has been proven guilty. Anna Hazare and Co. wanted Lokpal as a panacea for all ills, but nobody knows who the Lokpal is.
Worse scandals like demonetisation, the heartless lockdown, dubious defence purchases, the PM CARES Fund, electoral bonds, and letting open defence aerodromes for marriage receptions have happened with no Anna Hazare and Co. in sight.
Like King Lear, Dr Manmohan Singh was more sinned against than sinning. He came to power when the balance of trade was precariously low and the previous government had to pawn India’s gold assets. He not only placed the economy in a safe position but also helped the nation face an economic challenge that virtually crippled many Western economies. That was Manmohan’s mantra.
I had three occasions to travel with him when he was Prime Minister. When we returned from Mauritius, he gave each media person a route map personally signed by him. I was with him when he visited South Africa to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Satyagraha, and also when he went to Japan to sign a nuclear deal and secure funding for many rail projects.
Within an hour of the aircraft reaching a certain height, the Prime Minister would come out of his cabin and meet the media persons. He would make a statement, after which everyone was free to ask any questions, whether or not related to the trip. This regimen was followed during the return trip too. There was also an opportunity to ask questions when the host and the guest addressed a press conference.
I have myself asked some embarrassing questions, which he answered with patience. Yet, he was called the Mauni (Silent) Baba. And the man who coined never face a press conference.
Yes, Dr Manmohan Singh’s greatness will be felt more and more as Carol services are disrupted, mosques are searched for idols, people’s food habits are questioned, minorities are given zero representation in ministries, and two persons are given more than 50 percent of the national wealth. Already, people can scarcely believe that a gentleman by the name of Dr Manmohan Singh lived and ruled in India.