Chandigarh, Dec 27 (PTI) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh once called Chandigarh the "City Beautiful" and a representative of the spirit of the people of Punjab and Haryana.
He made the remarks during a visit to the Chandigarh Press Club here in September 2005.
Chandigarh, the dream city of India's first prime minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, was planned by the famed French architect Le Corbusier. Located at the foothills of Shivaliks, it is regarded as one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture.
During a visit to the Club, for the silver jubilee celebration of the Chandigarh Press, Singh said, "Chandigarh is the symbol of a new India, it is the City Beautiful. At the time of its creation, Jawaharlal Nehru declared 'Let Chandigarh be the first large expression of our genius flowering on our newly earned freedom.'"
He also paid his tributes to the local journalists, saying that many of the country's finest scribes cut their teeth in Chandigarh.
"Today morning, I had the privilege of attending the 125th anniversary celebrations of The Tribune. The Tribune was born in Lahore, but it blossomed here in Chandigarh.
"It did so because Chandigarh provided the intellectual, social and political environment in which media could freely develop and grow. I salute Chandigarh and the people of Chandigarh. May your city continue to grow as a role model in all walks of life," Singh, then serving his first of the two terms as PM, said.
He also championed the role of a free press and lauded those who stood up to the powers that be.
"It is the ultimate check against the tyranny of authority. As I have often said, I do sincerely believe that there is no grievance, howsoever extreme and desperate, that cannot be redressed through democratic means … I salute the courage of such defenders of democracy," he said.
Singh said it was the responsibility of the media to defend the liberal space, even while giving expression to all opinions.
"The media must be an instrument for moderation, for a contest of ideas, not a weapon of extremism, communalism and other ideologies of disaffection," he said.
"The high standards of journalism prevailing in our country, despite the commercial pressures on media, testify to the robust traditions of independent journalism. Our free press has emerged as an important guarantor of democratic and human rights.
"Our media has given voice to the voiceless. It has ensured that every minority and marginal group is heard, is seen, is involved in the mainstream," he said.
Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, died Thursday night at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was 92.
The Congress leader, who steered the country from 2004 to 2014 and helped set up the country's economic framework as finance minister before that, was a renowned name in the global financial and economic sectors.