Dr. Manmohan Singh (1932–2024), who passed away on 26th December 2024, was the chief architect of India’s modern economy during a time of severe macroeconomic crisis. Born in 1932 into an agrarian family in Gah village, Jhelum, Punjab, Singh’s early years were marked by hardship. Although his official birthdate is recorded as September 26, he once shared with a biographer that there was confusion, and some records listed it as February 4, 1932. Losing his mother at a young age, Singh had no memories of her and was raised by his grandparents while his father worked in Peshawar.
Singh attended Khalsa High School in Peshawar, studying there until matriculation. His education was disrupted by the turmoil of Partition, which claimed the life of his grandfather in the riots. A telegram reading “father killed, mother safe” announced the tragic news. As violence spread, Singh had to sit for his matriculation exams twice first in Peshawar and later in Amritsar, where the family relocated.
In 1947, Singh and his family migrated to Haldwani under police protection but later settled in Amritsar. He pursued his BA at Hindu College and later Khalsa College. A scholarship of Rs. 176 enabled him to continue his studies at Punjab University, Hoshiarpur, where he completed his MA. Singh then traveled to London by ship to pursue research in Economics at Cambridge University. He briefly returned to Punjab University to teach but resumed his studies at Oxford University, earning a Ph.D. in 1960.
Singh’s career advanced rapidly. By 1972, at the age of 40, he became Chief Economic Advisor at the Union Ministry of Finance. He later served as Secretary of the Ministry of Finance (1976), Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1982), and head of the Planning Commission (1985–1987).
To the surprise of many, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao appointed Singh as Finance Minister in 1991. Singh was initially unaware of the significance of Rao’s call to Rashtrapati Bhavan, leading to a brief misunderstanding. Together, Rao and Singh spearheaded India’s economic liberalization, dismantling the license raj and opening the economy to foreign investments. Singh entered politics through a Rajya Sabha nomination in 1991 and later served as Leader of the Opposition (1998–2004) before becoming India’s Prime Minister. He was the first to complete two consecutive full terms after Jawaharlal Nehru.
A close friendship with Dr. Mahboobul Haq, Pakistan’s former Finance Minister, shaped Singh’s worldview. In 1968, he visited Pakistan at Haq’s invitation but declined to visit Gah, where his grandfather was killed. Instead, he sought out a cherished bookshop in Peshawar, where the shopkeeper refused payment for the books Singh selected. In his Delhi bedroom, a watercolour of Gah gifted by former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf remained a poignant reminder of his roots. (News Trail)
COMMENTS