DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ● MANMOHAN SINGH: 1932-2024 ● Dr Singh walks into history POLITICAL LEGACY HIS REFORMS ROADMAP He opened India to the world, set stage for seat at global high table Foundation of New India to be set, he said before his 1991 Budget As PM, ended India’s nuclear winter; graft shadow clouded second term Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao with Manmohan Singh at a Planning Commission meeting in July 1993. Archive Former PM Manmohan Singh with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi . Prem Nath Pandey MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 26 MANMOHAN SINGH, the architect of opening India’s economy to the world that lifted a record number out of poverty and set the stage for the nation to secure a seat at the global high table, died in New Delhi Thursday night. He was 92. The former Prime Minister is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters. His passing was announced by the AIIMSwhich,inabulletin,stated that he was brought to Emergency at 8.06 pm after “sudden loss of consciousness at home”. It said despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9.51 pm. AsPrimeMinisterfrom2004 to 2014, Singh broke the country’slongnuclearwinter,steered itsuccessfullythroughtheglobal financial crisis and marked a place for the country in the new world order. An unlikely politician, the scholarly,soft-spokenacademicpolitician — born in Gah in what is today Pakistan, his family migrated to India during Partition; he was an alumnus of both Oxford and Cambridge universities—believedintheimportance ofthefreemarketandatthesame time redefined the role of the welfare state when he was PM. Under him, the UPA government,inits10yearsattheCentre, ushered in a second wave of financial reforms and unveiled a raft of welfare measures, breaking the long held belief that economicreformsandsocialwelfare cannot go hand in hand. The economic reforms steered by Singh as Finance Minister, under the watch of P V NarasimhaRaointhe1990s,and the policies employed by the UPAgovernmentwithhimatthe BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at an event in New Delhi in October 2019. Anil Sharma ENDED LICENCE PERMIT RAJ Truth hurts, he said, when asked why he didn’t write his memoir FULL COVERAGE SHAJI VIKRAMAN CHENNAI, DECEMBER 26 helm as Prime Minister spurred industrial growth,liftedmillions out of poverty, swelled the middle class and revitalised Indian business. He steered the landmark Indo-USnucleardealwhichgave a glimpse of Singh the politician – it was always understated. He put his government on the line, resisted and rebuffed the Left’s pressure tactics, but in the end managed to salvage the nuclear deal and his government. He showed his party, Oppositionandthepoliticalclass that he knew the art of realpolitik too. Likewise, he weathered many crises in his Cabinet, pulls andpressuresfromtheCongress but managed to stay afloat. Rahul Gandhi’s 2013 ordinancetearing antics hurt him and prompted him to step down but the elderly statesman in him gave in to persuasion by his colleagues and he stayed on. He later told The Indian Express that Rahul had subsequently apologised to him. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INEARLY2016,afewmonthsbefore the country marked 25 years of its famous economic reforms, one of the key architects of liberalisation and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shed a bit of his usual reticence at the end of a session at his New Delhi home. Asked by this reporter, why he chose not to write a memoir, considering that he had held top jobs in the country — chief economic CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THEEXPRESS PM Modi with former PM Manmohan Singh in 2017. PTI file President, PM, LoP lead nation paying tribute, seven-day mourning for Singh EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 26 PRESIDENT DROUPADI Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying rich tribute to former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh who died Thursday night. Cutting across parties, leader sanctions post 1998, and had emerged stronger. By N K Unfortunately, we are yet to Singh claim the full advantages of this deal by not clearing enabling laws relating to liability of priMANMOHAN SINGH was an vate nuclear players. Manmohan Singh was caueconomist with spectacular domain expertise, but as Finance tious, and he was calibrated too Minister in PV Narasimha Rao’s in his approach. He was a comCabinet, he was deeply con- pulsive reformer, and could scious of the limits of India’s po- achievespectacularresultsgiven thecrisiswiththefullestsupport litical economy of change. When he was the FM, I went of Narasimha Rao. But he along with him for a meeting worked under the shadow of with Petroleum Minister Sonia Gandhi, and as Prime B Shankaranand. I was quite dis- Minister he recognised the soappointed when he spurned cialist mindset of the party Singh’spersuasioneffortstodis- cramped his style and instincts investment in government oil — he was not his own master. Vajpayee had one big advancompanies. Shankaranand describedtheseas‘temples’builtby tage — he was the leader of his own party, he was the boss, he (Jawaharlal) Nehru. Manmohan Singh ticked me only had to balance the interests off. “Nandu, don’t be so impa- of the organisation. Manmohan tient, please recognise that gov- Singh was also unfailingly attached to me and all ernments must surthose who worked vive to reform,” he SPECIAL TO with him. A new govsaid. He was deeply ernment under him conscious of the limtookofficeonMay22, its of the political 2004.IwasaMember economy of change, of consensusbeingnecessaryfor of the Planning Commission unpolitical stability. He taught me der Vajpayee’s NDA. I called on to be patient with the tardy pace him personally in June to offer my resignation. of reforms. But Singh asked me to take But he was audacious too. He rode on the strength of eco- back my resignation indicating nomicreformswhenhebecame he would like me to work with thePrimeMinisterin2004.(Atal him,andtoldmetomeethimafBihari) Vajpayee was audacious ter a conference abroad I was too—heassertedIndia’sposition scheduled to attend. He rememon the high table with the sec- bered our association that dates ond nuclear test in Pokhran. He back to his first day in government service — I drove him to endured the sanctions. Riding on the back of the the Ministry of Foreign Trade; strength of the Indian economy, Minister LN Mishra had handManmohanSinghknewwecan- picked him to be his Economic notremainawayfromthemain- Advisor. Upon my return, he said it stream. He knew India needed private investments, and went would be problematic for me to aheadandsignedtheciviliannu- continue. I took out my old letclear agreement with the US in ter, changed the date and sent 2008. Manmohan’s audacity him the resignation. I was the Joint Secretary in was to risk the arithmetic of political survival of the govern- the Fund-Bank Division in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ment. But India had withstood after leader described Singh’s passing as a loss to the nation, hailing him as one of its most distinguished leaders. Officials said the Union governmenthasdeclaredaseven-day mourningforSinghandcancelled all government programmes scheduled for Friday. TheCabinet,officialssaid,will meetat11amFridaytopaytribute toSingh.Hislastriteswillbeconducted with full state honours. President Murmu said Singh was“oneof thoserarepoliticians whoalsostraddledtheworldsof academia and administration with equal ease”. “In his various roles in public offices, he made critical contributions to reforming the Indian economy. He will CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE ‘ACCIDENTAL PM’ WHO PROVED THAT HE WAS NO ACCIDENT PAGES 8, 9, 10, & 11 Happy Birthday on plane; defer interview ‘for the time being’ RITU SARIN NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 26 FOR MONTHS now, Dr ManmohanSingh’sfailinghealthand the need for him to rest was a refrain among his staff when they regretted scheduling any meeting or interview. ButtheformerPrimeMinister himselfwasmeticulousaboutreplying to all requests on e-mail. Inonesuchreplythisyear,he wrote to this reporter: “I regret becauseof myill-healthIwillnot be able to record an interview, for the time being.” “For the time being,” it held out hope – and promise. ThatwasSingh,generousnot only for the time being but for ever. In the nation’s capital where leaders have little patience – or the need – to worry about who’s being rubbed the wrong way, Singh was an exception. Indeed, days before G-20 when many in his party mocked the “show,” in an interview to The Indian Express, Singh, gentlyyetfirmly,underlinedthesignificance of the moment. In the wake of the RussiaUkraine war, he said, India has a “pivotal role” in “steering” the new world order and has “done the right thing in putting its sovereign and economic interests first while also appealing for peace.” Singh said that he was “more optimistic about India’s future than worried,” but that optimismis“contingentonIndiabeing a harmonious society.” This natural inclination for the nuance wasn’t just an expression of humility – it was the hallmark of a leadership with depth and breadth. I remember the afternoon of May 22, 2004, when his name was announced by the Congress party for Prime Ministership. Securitywasbeingstrengthened outside his residence but having persuaded his wife Gursharan Kaur to give The Indian Express an interview, we got some time with him. “I will need everybody’s help The vehicle carrying his body outside AIIMS, in New Delhi on Thursday night. Gajendra Yadav for the task ahead,” he said, his hands folded. Gursharan Kaur shared some pictures from their family album. The next day, Manmohan Singhtookchargeof whatwould betwofulltermsof ahistoricand tumultuous Prime Ministerial tenure. Singh suffered a health crisis in 2009, when he had to suddenly undergo a coronary bypass surgery (his second), at AIIMS. It was his eldest daughter, Upinder, who spoke to The Indian Express: “Yes, we were worried because there is a risk factor in any heart surgery. But there were mixed feelings of being worried and optimistic..” As Prime Minister, “Dr Saheb,” as many in his office called him, was not fond of prolonged trips overseas. Except when he was on an official tour to US, and often to address the United Nations General Assembly, he would extend his visit for a day to spend time with his daughter, Amrit, who works as an attorney in New York. On one such trip in 2011, it happened to be September 26, thePrimeMinister’sbirthday,on his flight back from New York after a UNGA session. The sugarfree cake — Singh was diabetic — for the Prime Minister was ready and loaded on Air India One but hehadpolitelysaidnotoanyonboard celebrations. Finally, after take-off, when hewalkedovertothemediasection to greet journalists, I was asked by a member of the official delegation to try and persuade him. The Prime Minister shyly acquiescedandrequestedmetodo the honours – slices of the Prime Minister’s birthday cake were passed around as we wished him Happy Birthday. Singh was known to have been extremely protective of his family. As they were of him but there were occasions when, in the midst of controversies, his familymemberswouldspeakup for him. In 2014, when the Prime Minister’sformermediaadvisor, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata