RIP Manmohan Singh | History may judge the former PM kindly

In his last address to the nation as prime minister, Manmohan Singh said he had undertaken the responsibility of being PM “with diligence as my tool, truth as my beacon and a prayer that I might always do the right thing.” 

As Singh breathed his last on Thursday, he will be remembered for all the right things he did. He was 92.

In his own words, Singh was an “underprivileged child of partition” who was empowered enough to rise and occupy the high office. He was prime minister for 10 years from 2004 onwards

His elevation as the prime minister was a significant moment in Indian history as he became the first Sikh and the first member from a minority community to attain the top post.

With an impeccable CV and world-class experience, Manmohan gave hope to the country’s middle class and its educated citizens. During his first term, he worked on revitalising the economy and also gave the country some of its landmark rights-based legislations like the NREGA, Right to Education and Right to Information. In the Nehruvian tradition, his government set up a ministry of minority affairs and appointed the Sachar Committee to study the socio-economic and educational condition of Muslims. He also personally reached out to the Sikhs by apologising for the pogrom of 1984.

Even before he became the prime minister and left a mark with his genteel manners, Singh as a finance minister under P.V. Narasimha Rao, heralded the country into an era of economic prosperity and brought about landmark economic reforms.

“No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come... India as a major economic power in the world happens to be one such idea,” Singh had said in his first 1991 budget speech. He also steered the country during the difficult time of the economic slowdown of 2008.

As a prime minister, Singh came with a pacifist agenda and a desire to improve relations with neighbours and the Western powers. The high point of his tenure was the civil nuclear deal with the US, an issue over which he was even willing to sacrifice his government. This enhanced the India-US relations to the next level.

However, his tenure witnessed the creation of two power centres―the PMO and the National Advisory Council headed by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi. His second tenure was marked by allegations of corruption and his loosening control over the government as allies and several Congress leaders undermined his authority.

Owing to his personality of being a quiet and reticent politician, a quality often misunderstood in the Indian polity, he had to face persistent attacks from the Opposition.  During his lifetime, Singh did not get the due credit for the kind of work he had done during his tenure.

“My silence is better than a thousand answers. If I start answering, it will throw up several more questions which will beg for answers,” he once told the Opposition.

Singh’s legacy will be analysed in the days ahead. He may get the due credit for how the country progressed due to his economic and rights-based policies. “History will judge me better,” Manmohan had remarked when faced with persistent criticism.

History will cast a kind eye on him.