A Life Sketch

Dr. Manmohan Singh: India’s son, the Pride of the World

The great son of India, the pride of the world, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s personality is incomparable, memorable and unforgettable in many ways. He influenced the great personalities of the world and Indian politics and society on a large scale with his extraordinary efficiency, talent, keen vision, extraordinary scholarship, skilful work style, effective and radiant eloquence, impressive logic, serious thought, eloquent speech, gentle personality and discernment. He also made a continuous contribution to the propaganda of the National Independence Movement and National Awakening at an early age and gave the right guidance to the politicians at the right time as required in independent India. There are many examples and evidences of this. This is the reason why politicians, social workers, high officials, advocates, teachers, lawyers, journalists, writers and artists all used to visit him for discussions and help on important issues and used to meet him and share their views and get benefited from him. Every person who came in contact with him, whether he was a special person or an ordinary person, considered himself blessed by receiving his love and blessings and became his admirer for life.

Birth of Dr. Manmohan Singh:

Dr. Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932, in a Sikh family to Gurumukh Singh and Amrit Kaur at a place called Gah in the Punjab state of undivided India. His mother’s name was Amrit Kaur and father’s name was Gurumukh Singh. After the partition of the country, Dr. Singh’s family moved to India. His mother died in his childhood, after which he was raised by his grandmother. Later, during the partition of India and Pakistan, his family came and settled permanently in Amritsar (Punjab, India).

Education

Dr. Manmohan Singh received his early education locally. He was a brilliant student in his academic career. He completed his graduation from Punjab University in 1952 and post-graduation in 1954. In 1957, he received a degree in Economics from Cambridge University and later in 1962, he completed his D.Phil in Economics from Nuffield College, Oxford University. Manmohan Singh’s favourite hobbies include reading and writing. He has had these hobbies since childhood. Dr. Singh taught at Punjab University and Delhi School of Economics, which shows his academic excellence. In the meantime, he also worked for the UNCTAD Secretariat for a few years. On this basis, he was appointed as the Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva in 1987 and 1990. In 1971, Dr. Singh joined the Ministry of Commerce as Economic Adviser. In 1972, he was appointed as the Chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance. Dr. Singh served as Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Advisor to the Prime Minister, Chairman of the University Grants Commission.

Family life

Dr. Manmohan Singh married Gursharan Kaur in 1958. Dr. Singh has three daughters Upinder Singh, Amrit Singh and Daman Singh. Upinder Singh is a professor of history at Delhi University. Her books include ‘A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India’ and ‘Ancient Delhi’ which are guiding the students of history of the country. Amrit Singh works as a staff lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union. Daman Singh is a graduate from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat. She is married to IPS officer Ashok Patnaik. Daman Singh’s nine novels including ‘The Last Frontier’, ‘People and One and Nine’ are quite popular.

Political journey of Dr. Manmohan Singh

During his academic career, Dr. Singh used to indirectly give appropriate advice to politicians for the progress of the country. But he entered Indian politics in 1991 when India was going through a serious economic crisis and the then Prime Minister of India P.V. Narasimha Rao included him in his cabinet as the Union Finance Minister. At this time, Dr. Manmohan Singh was not a member of any house. Dr. Singh was neither a member of the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha. But according to the constitutional system, it is necessary for a minister of the government to be a Member of Parliament. Therefore, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam in 1991. Earlier, during the reign of Rajiv Gandhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh was appointed the Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission in 1985. He worked on this post continuously for five years, after which in 1990 he was made the economic advisor to the Prime Minister.

In his political career, Dr. Singh has been a member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha) since 1991. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2004. Dr. Manmohan Singh took oath as Prime Minister on May22, 2004 after the 2004 general elections and again became the Prime Minister of India for the second time on May 22, 2009.

Dr. Manmohan Singh as a successful Finance Minister: Dr. Manmohan Singh, the fourteenth Prime Minister of India, is renowned worldwide as a thinker and scholar. He is known for his humility, diligence and commitment to work. Dr. Manmohan Singh served as the Finance Minister of India from 1991 to 1996, which was a decisive period in the economic history of independent India. His role in formulating a comprehensive policy for economic reforms has been appreciated by all. In India, these years are known as an integral part of Dr. Singh’s personality.

He did the biggest economic reform after India’s independence to put the country’s economy back on track. He opened India’s economy to the world and implemented it very well. India is reaping the fruits of this in abundance. Apart from that, from 2005 to 2014, he did a lot to make India’s economy the fastest growing economy in the world. There is no doubt that Manmohan Singh was the best finance minister of the country and leaders of all parties also agree to this. Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Prime Ministership: Golden Achievements

Dr. Manmohan Singh completely changed the economic story of India during his tenure as Prime Minister. Thereafter, during the tenure of Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister of India, India witnessed all-round development and India stood in the forefront of the group of nations of the world. Some of its major achievements are as follows:

· Steps taken in the field of liberalization:

When the world was moving towards globalization, India had kept its market closed for foreign companies and investments. India was moving forward with a largely socialist approach. The government was considered the main driver of the economy. As the Finance Minister of India and later as the Prime Minister, Dr. Singh opened up India’s market and the country moved forward on the path of liberalization, privatization and globalization.

· Unexpected increase in GDP rate:

During the tenure of economist Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Indian economy grew at the rate of 8.9 percent. In 2007, India achieved a GDP growth rate of 9 percent and became the second fastest growing economy in the world.

· Special Economic Zone Act 2005:

This Act was approved on June 23, 2005, the main objective of which was to attract foreign investment in India. Through this, emphasis was also laid on raising foreign exchange through export of goods and services. Under the establishment of Special Economic Zone, many facilities were given to the companies starting their work there. This was a great achievement of Dr. Singh.

· National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA now MNREGA) Act 2005:

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme played a very important role in improving the lives of the rural people of India. The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. Singh launched the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in 2005. It is a social security scheme aimed at providing livelihood and employment to rural communities and laborers in India. Under NREGA, rural families are guaranteed at least 100 days of employment in a year. Later, the name of this scheme was changed to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Under this scheme, more than 6 crore people got employment during the tenure of Dr. Singh. In the recent times, during the global pandemic Corona period, this scheme worked as a lifesaver in the rural areas of India, which propelled their lives.

· Dr. Singh’s important role in India-US nuclear deal:

One of the major achievements of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government is the signing of the India-US nuclear deal or India Civil Nuclear Agreement. The outline of this agreement was announced in a joint statement by Dr. Manmohan Singh and US President, George Bush. Under the agreement, India agreed that all its nuclear facilities would be placed under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. On October 1, 2008, the US Senate approved the civil nuclear agreement, after which India could trade nuclear fuel and technology with the US.

· Success in Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan Mission:

Among the major achievements of Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government, Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan are important, which were approved by him during his tenure as Prime Minister. Initially, Chandrayaan-1 was a joint mission between India and Russia. However, in 2012, ISRO decided to carry out this mission alone. In 2012, Dr. Manmohan Singh also announced the Mars mission. It is the achievement of Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government that the Indian flag was hoisted on the moon and Indian scientists succeeded in reaching Mars.

National and International Honours and Awards received by Dr. Manmohan Singh Due to his great achievements, Dr. Singh has received many honours in various fields of life, including India’s second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan (1987), Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress (1995), Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993 and 1994), Euro Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993), Adam Smith Prize of Cambridge University (1956), Wright Prize for Distinguished Performance at St. John’s College, Cambridge (1955). Dr. Singh has been honoured by the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun and other associations. Dr. Singh has represented India in many international organisations and conferences. He led the Indian delegation to the Heads of Commonwealth Meeting in Cyprus in 1993 and the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.

Positions held by Dr. Manmohan Singh

• 1957 to 1965: Professor at the Punjab University, Chandigarh. • 1969 to 1971: Professor of International Trade at the Delhi School of Economics. • 1976: Honorary Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. • 1976-1980: Director of the Reserve Bank of India. • 1976-1980: Director of the Industrial Development Bank of India. • 1980-1982: Member of the Planning Commission. • 1982-1985: Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. • 1985-1987: Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India. • 1987-1990: Secretary General of the South Commission, an independent economic think-tank based in Geneva, Switzerland. • 1990: Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister. • 1991: Chairman of the University Grants Commission. • 1991 - Member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam. • 1991: Finance Minister in the government of Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao. • 1995 - Member of the Rajya Sabha for the second time. • 2001 - Member of the Rajya Sabha for the third time and Leader of the Opposition in the House. • Became the Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004. • Became the Prime Minister of India for the second time on May 22, 2009. Dr. Manmohan Singh’s book ‘Changing India’ gained popularity in the world • In ‘Changing India’ published in five volumes, Manmohan Singh has assessed the work done during his 10 years as Prime Minister and the economy as an economist. • He said that people say that I was a silent Prime Minister but everything is written in the five volumes of my book. Those people do not want to tell my achievements during my tenure as Prime Minister. They want to hide them from the country but my book will tell this in a better way. • ‘Changing India’ also throws light on Manmohan Singh’s life. The book depicts his childhood, education, life as an economist and his life journey as Prime Minister. • Through Changing India, Dr. Manmohan Singh has written extensively on the economic, social and political issues of India.

It would be appropriate to count Dr. Manmohan Singh among the invaluable heritages of India. Dr. Singh dedicated his entire life for the development and prosperity of the country. His work was incomparable and the development path he drew for India while holding important non-political and political positions, the heights of development he took India to during his tenure as Prime Minister are incomparable and extraordinary. The country will always be indebted to Dr. Singh for this great work.