Manmohan Singh: An ‘accidental PM’ who pulled out Indian economy from doldrums
Friend, philosopher, guide, mentor, mitra (friend), bhai (brother), statesman, distinguished leader — the list of salutations used to pay tributes to India’s first Sikh Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh continued growing over the days as homages poured in after his demise< Several people known to him shared anecdotes that revealed some lesser-known virtues and exceptional qualities of the late technocrat-turned-politician.
The most caustic epithet used for him by his critics was ‘accidental prime minister’ — one which he took in his stride and while recalling how he became the country’s FM, said that he was in fact an ‘accidental finance minister’ first.
It was indeed accidental, since the first choice of then PM PV Narasimha Rao was the incumbent RBI governor I. G. Patel, who declined the offer.
Consequently, as per reports, Singh got a phone call late in the night from Rao’s close aide PC Alexander. His son-in-law Vijay Tankha answered and was asked to wake up Manmohan. A few hours later, Manmohan met Alexander and was informed about Rao’s intent to make him the finance minister. Unlike Patel, Singh grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Rao, christened Chanakya, broke many conventions, as besides appointing a non-political economist Singh as FM, he also appointed Janata Party’s Subramanian Swamy as Chairman of the Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade, the only time when an opposition leader was assigned a Cabinet rank post. He also sent Atal Bihari Vajpayee to represent India in a UN meeting at Geneva.
So, it was clear, Rao chose people solely on merit.
Architect of economic reforms
When Singh became finance minister in 1991, the Indian economy was in deep crisis. Foreign exchange reserves could sustain just a few weeks of imports and the country had shipped its gold reserves to England. The mess was a result of profligacy and spending beyond means over the years.
Backed solidly by Rao, Manmohan Singh introduced radical reforms in his first Union Budget of 1991-92 with focus on ‘liberalisation’.
Singh abolished the ‘licence raj’, opened many sectors to private and foreign players for capital inflow, devalued the currency and reduced import tariffs, setting the stage for economic growth and global integration.
In his 1991 budget speech, while stamping the need for reforms, Singh famously quoted Victor Hugo, saying, “No power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come.”
Trial by fire
However, the initial first resistance to the new economic policy and reforms came from within the Congress as party leaders saw it as undoing the Nehruvian legacy.
He was targeted by some sections of media and faced the anger of Congress leaders who could not digest the reforms.
The bold steps did boost up the sagging economic state and Manmohan Singh earned a place in history with Narasimha Rao for rescuing the economy from doldrums.
Sonia’s surprise choice for PM
When UPA won the 2004 elections, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi—facing opposition for her foreign origin—picked Manmohan Singh to be the Prime Minister, which was seen as a surprise choice.
In a speech much later, in 2018, at an event in Mumbai, Sonia said that she knew Dr Manmohan Singh would be a better prime minister than her after the 2004 elections.
“I knew my limitations. I knew Manmohan Singh would be a better prime minister than me,” Sonia said.
Singh’s first term from 2004 to 2009 saw the GDP grow at an average of 7.9 per cent, sensex rise 180 per cent, and debt-to-GDP ratio fall to 65.5 per cent.
The first four years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government under Singh also saw radical and progressive changes in India’s social-democratic fabric. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act came into being.
Sonia heaped praises on Singh while mourning his death and said he was the “epitome of wisdom, nobility and humility” and a “luminous and beloved guiding light” for the Congress party.
The decline
Manmohan Singh’s second term from 2009 to 14 turned out a contrast to his first one, marked by slower growth, high inflation, and several allegations of corruption and scams.
Inflation, fiscal deficit and trade deficit shot up; growth slowed. From being seen at the cusp of sustained double digit growth rates, India joined the infamous club of fragile five countries, whose macroeconomic fundamentals were deeply in the red.
Bad loans piled up in the banking system and ended up becoming a major impediment to growth.
Several high-profile corruption scandals, including the 2G spectrum case, the Commonwealth Games scam worth Rs 70,000 crore, AgustaWestland chopper scam involving Rs 3600 crore, Tata trucks scam resulting in the siphoning of Rs 750 crore, cash-for-votes scam, Adarsh scam, Satyam scam and the coal allocation scam, marred the government’s reputation.
It was also in his tenure, when during one of the hearings pertaining to the Coal Scam in Sept. 2013, the Supreme Court compared the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to a “caged parrot”.
The Yasin Malik photo-op
In a bid to resolve the Kashmir crisis, Singh reached out to political leaders, separatists and other parties in J&K for talks.
However, inviting Kashmiri terrorists Yasin Malik, who had killed IAF officers and was actively involved in propagation of separatist ideology, to a meeting at his official home in New Delhi in 2006 led to severe embarrassment. His photographs with Yasin Malik turned out to be one of the most harrowing images, and rankled those whose lives were ruined by the latter.
Sharm el-Sheikh declaration disaster
The statement released after Singh met then Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Egyptian resort town Sharm el-Sheikh, was panned for mention of India meddling in Balochistan as well as for delinking of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism from dialogue between the two nations.
The controversial July 16, 2009 statement read, “Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas.”
Earlier, India refrained from any such reference in joint statements and strongly denied any involvement in Balochistan.
It added, “Both Prime Ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.”
Instead of rebuking Pakistan for providing a safe haven to Mumbai 26/11 attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Singh ended up letting Islamabad include its accusation of India fomenting insurgency in Balochistan.
India-US civil nuclear deal
Another hallmark of Singh’s tenure as PM was the civil nuclear pact between India and the US. The pact brought an end to the nuclear restrictive regime after the Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver.
India had not been able to trade in nuclear material, nuclear reactors, nuclear raw materials for 34 years, and this was coming to an end.
Initially, the Congress was wary of Singh’s strong advocacy of the India-US civil nuclear agreement. But he stuck to his decision and when the Left parties threatened to withdraw support to his government, he dared them to do so, and had his way.
The poet in MMS, and his ‘shayari’ banters with Sushma Swaraj
The well-read Manmohan Singh also had a liking for the Urdu language and poetry, and he proved his prowess when challenged.
During a Lok Sabha debate in 2011, the then Leader of Opposition, Sushma Swaraj recited couplets of poet Shahab Jafri to target Singh as corruption charges had started smearing his government.
“Tu idhar udhar ki na baat kar, yet bata ki kafila kyun luta, humein rahjano se gila nahi, teri rahbari ka sawal hai (Don’t try to digress with talk about irrelevant issues, tell us why the loot happened. I have no complaint against the robbers, I question your leadership),” said Swaraj.
Singh chose to pull out Allama Iqbal’s verse to respond. “Maanaa ki teri deed ke kaabil nahi hoon main, tu mera shauq dekh mera intezar dekh (Agreed I am not worthy of pleasing your eyes. But look at my keenness, my yearning),” he said.
Later during a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in 2013, Singh fired the first barb with Mirza Ghalib’s verse and said, “Hum ko un se wafa ki hai ummeed, jo nahin jaante wafa kya hai (I don’t expect someone to be considerate loyal who does not know what consideration is).”
Swaraj retorted by reciting Bashir Badr’s lines, “Kuchh to majbooriyan rahi hongi, yun hi koi bewafa nahin hota (There must have been some reasons as no one becomes inconsiderate for nothing).”
At a later occasion, when reporters asked him about the corruption charges against his government, he said, “Hazaron jawaabon se achchhi hai meri khamoshi, jo kayi sawalon ki aabru dhak leti hai (My silence is better than thousands of replies, since replying to them would have revealed a lot).”
The rubber stamp, puppet, remote-controlled PM labels
Congress watchers saw machinations in Sonia choosing Singh for the PM’s post and said the biggest reason was that he was soft-spoken, did not have a mass base and this enabled the party’s first family to trust him.
Some called him a puppet PM, who was warming the chair for the Congress scion.
Some critics even termed him a ‘remote-controlled’ PM managed by the Gandhi family and said that Sonia enjoyed power without accountability. She headed the National Advisory Council which acted much like a de facto PMO.
There was also talk of there being two centres of power — 10 Janpath and then 7 Race Course Road.
Was Manmohan Singh weak in reality?
It will be naïve to think that Manmohan Singh was weak and nothing more than a puppet. He wielded power with authority when he had to. If Congress leadership had chosen him with some intent, he well knew that the particular reason was a point in his favour.
It is said that he never shied from threatening to quit and used this strategy at several crucial junctures to have his say, though he always remained indebted to the party leadership for posing its trust in him, and choosing him for the most powerful position in the country, something he couldn’t have achieved otherwise.
At the same time, he was an astute technocrat who had seen power from close quarters when he worked with multiple prime ministers during his stint in bureaucracy, and wielded authority himself as the RBI governor and UGC chairman.
Months before the 2014 general election, Singh announced that he would retire after the polls, with Rahul Gandhi earmarked to take his place if the Congress won.
But the Congress crashed to its worst-ever defeat as the BJP, led by Narendra Modi, won a majority.
Will history really be kind on him?
In his last press conference as PM, addressed on 3 January, 2014, Singh said, “I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament… I think, taking into account the circumstances and the compulsions of a coalition polity, I have done as best as I could under the circumstances.”
Leaders world over respected him for his intellect and integrity, and many even sought and heeded his advice.
His legacy as the architect of modern India’s economic reforms and his role as a statesman will be remembered for generations.
RIP, Manmohan Singh.
Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.
