Mumbai:

Once or twice a month, the then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India would walk to Mumbai’s famous Strand Book Stall in the Fort area to check out the latest arrivals. Little did the bookstore’s staff know that this soft-spoken book-lover would become the country’s prime minister.

A former staff member of Strand, which shut down a few years ago, recalled warm memories of Dr Manmohan Singh who died in Delhi on Thursday night at age 92.

Singh was the RBI governor between 1982 and 1985. Occasionally, he would visit the bookshop, a walking distance away, dressed in a ‘Band Gala’ suit or Kurta-Pyjama.

“Many of us have seen him at the store at lunchtime in those days,” said T Jagath, who worked at Strand for over two decades.

Jagath, now Chief Operating Officer of Kitab Khana bookstore, remembers Singh’s unassuming manners.

“I used to handle the management and literature section. He would ask for books on management, finance, and economy,” Jagath said.

“Sometimes I would find a book for him from the shelf,” he said, adding that Singh would call him by his name.

Sometimes, T N Shanbhag, the owner of Strand, would personally help him with books and show new arrivals.

“We used to wait for him in the afternoons as we knew he might drop in any day,” said Jagath.

India has lost a great economist and a good human being, he added.

“During my stint at Strand, I have seen seven to eight RBI governors. But Manmohan Singh was a very different personality amongst them,” said Jagath.

“Such a great man, very soft-spoken and down-to-earth; he used to treat all of us politely,” he said.

“No other political personality can match Dr Singh’s stature,” Jagath added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim paid tributes to his “true friend” Dr Manmohan Singh, former two-time Prime Minister who died at the age of 92. Calling Dr Singh the “midwife of India’s emergence”, Mr Ibrahim said the praise that is poured upon the former PM is “truly well-deserved”.

“The weight of grief bears down on me at the news of the passing of my honoured and cherished friend: Dr Manmohan Singh. Obituaries, essays and books a plenty there will surely be about this great man, celebrating him as the architect of India’s economic reforms. As Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh was the midwife of India’s emergence as one of the world’s economic giants,” Mr Ibrahim wrote in a post on X.

According to Mr Ibrahim, Dr Singh was “slightly awkward” as a politician but “undeniably upright, steadfast and resolute” as a statesman.

Also Read | Not Health, Manmohan Singh Asked About This After 10-Hour Heart Surgery

He also shared Dr Singh’s ‘act of kindness’ towards him during his incarceration years.

“Not many people know this, and it is time that I share it with Malaysians: during the years of my incarceration, he extended a kindness that he didn’t have to – one that was neither politically expedient nor, as one can imagine, appreciated by the Malaysian government at that time. Yet, true to his character, he did it anyway. He offered scholarships for my children, particularly my son, Ihsan. Although I had declined the gracious offer, such a gesture undoubtedly showed his extraordinary humanity and generosity, demonstrative, as the Bard would have it, of a man so full of “the milk of human kindness”,” he said.

“In those dark days, as I navigated the labyrinth of imprisonment, he stood by me as a true friend. Such acts of quiet magnanimity defined him, and they will remain etched in my heart forever. Goodbye, my mitra, my bhai, Manmohan,” the Malaysian PM added.

Also Read | Why Manmohan Singh Always Wore A Blue Turban

The weight of grief bears down on me at the news of the passing of my honoured and cherished friend: Dr Manmohan Singh.

Obituaries, essays and books a plenty there will surely be about this great man, celebrating him as the architect of India’s economic reforms. As Prime… pic.twitter.com/44bA3s7vst

— Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) December 27, 2024

Manmohan Singh died due to age-related medical complications. He had been in poor health for the last few months. His remains will be brought to his residence in Delhi for the public to offer their condolences. The funeral will be held at 9:30 am on Saturday. The former Prime Minister’s last rites will be conducted with full state honours. A seven-day state mourning will be observed throughout the country as a mark of respect to Dr Singh. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast across India.

New Delhi:

India’s economic growth post-liberalisation cannot be hailed without recognizing the significant contribution of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. His journey began long before he assumed charge as the 13th Prime Minister of the country.

When India was facing a balance of payments crisis, Dr Singh, along with then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, steered the economy onto the path of development through liberalization and served as the Finance Minister in Rao’s government.

As Finance Minister under Prime Minister Rao from 1991 to 1996, Singh played a pivotal role in liberalizing India’s economy. He reduced the License Raj and streamlined regulations, significantly reducing government interference in industries.

He also introduced trade reforms, cutting import tariffs and moving towards an open-market economy. The major reforms in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which India continues to benefit from, were initiated under his leadership, allowing FDI in key sectors.

The devaluation of the rupee, which Singh oversaw, helped make Indian exports more competitive, boosting export potential. He also introduced tax reforms that simplified the tax structure and widened the tax base. These efforts led India through a period of economic growth and policy transformation during his tenure.

Presenting the first budget as Finance Minister on July 24, 1991, Singh said in Parliament, “I am confident that, after a successful implementation of stabilisation measures and the essential structural and policy reforms, our economy would return to a path of high sustained growth with reasonable price stability and greater social equity.”

When he assumed charge as Prime Minister, the country experienced sustained economic growth. India achieved an average growth rate of 7 per cent during his first term. According to IMF data, India’s GDP from 2004 to 2014 averaged a growth rate of around 6.7 per cent.

During the 2008 global financial crisis, Dr Singh successfully steered the Indian economy with minimal damage.

The crisis, triggered by cheap credit and lax lending standards that led to a housing price bubble, left financial institutions holding trillions of dollars in worthless mortgages when the bubble burst.

Under Dr Singh’s leadership as Prime Minister, the government took aggressive countercyclical measures. The Reserve Bank of India sharply relaxed monetary policy, and the government introduced fiscal stimulus to boost domestic demand.

Dr Singh is also hailed as a socialist for his reforms like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which aimed to provide employment and reduce rural poverty. This scheme guaranteed work to a person from rural households for 100 days, and it significantly improved the livelihoods.

The success of today’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system and reduced leakages in welfare schemes can be traced back to Dr Singh’s initiative to launch the Aadhaar project. This project later became a cornerstone for financial inclusion and welfare distribution.

He also played a critical role in negotiating the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, opening up nuclear energy for civilian purposes. On August 1, 2008, the IAEA Board of Governors approved India’s safeguards agreement, paving the way for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Speaking about nuclear energy, Dr Singh remarked, “The civil nuclear initiative is good for India and good for the world. As we move forward towards our goal of sustainable development and energy security, the peaceful uses of atomic energy will play an increasingly important role.”

Dr Singh’s tenure as both Finance Minister and Prime Minister marked a transformative era in India’s economic landscape. His visionary policies laid the foundation for modern India’s economic rise.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Born in a village in undivided Punjab, now in Pakistan, former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s family witnessed first-hand the tragic Partition and he often spoke of communal harmony in his long public life. Dr Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms, died on Thursday night. He was 92.

He was born in Gah in Punjab province’s western region, which now falls in Pakistan.

Dr Singh was a noted economist and a respected figure in India and abroad.

According to his profile on the government website, “Dr Singh completed his matriculation examinations from the Punjab University in 1948. His academic career took him from Punjab to the University of Cambridge, UK, where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957.” Singh followed this with a D.Phil in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962.

His book, ‘India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth’ was an “early critique of India’s inward-oriented trade policy”, the profile reads.

He served two terms as India’s prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

A man of few words, but immense wisdom, he often spoke of communal harmony and democratic values that are at the core of India as a nation.

At an event in Amritsar in 2004 marking the 400th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib, he had recalled his roots.

“The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, touched an emotional cord while addressing a mammoth gathering in Amritsar, recalling his roots and paying tributes to the teachings of Guru Garnth Sahib,” reads a September 2004 statement carried on the website.

In his speech, then then prime minister had underlined that there could be “no better way” to honour the holy text than to abide in practice by its teachings of “living in peace with one another”.

“In celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Adi Granth’s installation, we pay homage and tribute to these values as much as to the scholarly and devout men and women who have helped preserve this sacred text, and have disseminated its tenets to generations of people.

“There can be no better way to honour the Guru Granth Sahib than to abide in practice by its teachings of living in peace with one another, and in harmony with nature. We must also learn to solve our problems through dialogue, while learning to respect our fellow men, irrespective of status, creed or caste,” he said.

In these troubled times, the wisdom of the Gurus “provided us with simple truths from which we much learn”, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

In his signature white kurta-pyjama and blue turban, Manmohan Singh, then 71, took the oath of office as India’s 14th Prime Minister on May 22, 2004. Members of Dr Singh’s family, political allies, and predecessors – including Atal Bihari Vajpayee – looked on as a quiet and reserved leader assumed the reins of power at a ceremony conducted by then-President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Until the 2004 election results were announced, it was widely assumed that the incumbent NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee would secure a second term. The BJP’s high-profile “India Shining” campaign dominated the airwaves. Political analysts and exit polls had overwhelmingly predicted a BJP-led victory. However, the Congress party, under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, spearheaded a comeback.

READ | “People Say I Was…”: When Manmohan Singh Defended “Silent PM” Charge

The Congress-led UPA coalition emerged victorious, securing enough support from regional allies to form the government. Sonia Gandhi, expected by many to assume the prime ministership, instead made a decision that surprised many: she stepped aside in favour of Manmohan Singh, citing her “inner voice”.

Sonia Gandhi’s Italian roots have been a contentious political issue since she entered active politics in 1998. In 2004, despite Congress’s electoral success, the issue resurfaced when BJP leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Uma Bharti reignited the controversy. Ms Swaraj even threatened dramatic protests, including shaving her head, should Mrs Gandhi become Prime Minister.

READ | Manmohan Singh’s Poetic Banter With Sushma Swaraj In Parliament

Sonia Gandhi also faced resistance internally. In his autobiography, One Life Is Not Enough, former External Affairs minister and Congress leader Natwar Singh recounted a tense moment at Mrs Gandhi’s residence, where Rahul Gandhi strongly urged his mother not to accept the position, citing his worries in light of the assassinations of his father, Rajiv Gandhi, and grandmother, Indira Gandhi.

Mrs Gandhi’s refusal to accept the top post paved the way for Manmohan Singh’s ascent. As a soft-spoken technocrat with no mass political base, Dr Singh was an unlikely choice. A career economist who had served as Finance Minister in PV Narasimha Rao’s government during the 1991 economic liberalisation, Dr Singh had earned respect in policy circles but lacked the typical attributes of a political leader. His lone attempt to contest a Lok Sabha seat, from South Delhi in 1999, ended in defeat, and Dr Singh remained a Rajya Sabha member throughout his political career.

READ | “Greatest Champion”: World Leaders Pay Tributes To Ex-PM Manmohan Singh

Despite being termed the “Accidental Prime Minister,” Dr Singh’s decade-long tenure was marked by some great achievements. His government launched transformative programs like the Right to Information (RTI), the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), and the Right to Education (RTE).

Dr Singh’s tenure, however, was not without controversies. In 2008, his government faced a confidence vote after the Left parties withdrew support over the Indo-US nuclear deal. Dr Singh staked his political capital on the agreement, arguing it was crucial for India’s energy security. His government survived the trust vote by a narrow margin.

The UPA lost power in 2014, with Narendra Modi’s BJP securing a landslide victory. Dr Singh exited public life with characteristic grace, stating, “I honestly believe history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or for that matter, the Opposition parties in Parliament.”

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is seen as the architect of India’s economic reforms during the PV Narasimha Rao rule that paved the way for the country’s economic growth. But besides economics, his other abiding interest was ‘shayari’ and he often employed verses to launch attacks on political rivals inside and outside the Parliament.

These poetry attacks drew loud cheers from both the treasury and the Opposition benches in times when humour, and not hostility, dominated the mood in Parliament. Mr Singh’s shayari strikes found their worthy match in the 15th Lok Sabha. From 2009-14, BJP stalwart, late Sushma Swaraj, was the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the ‘jugalbandi’ of ‘shayari’ between the two was nothing less than a delight.

In March 2011, the Parliament erupted over a Wikileaks cable that accused the then ruling Congress of bribing MPs during the 2008 trust vote. Leading the Opposition charge, Ms Swaraj targeted the Prime Minister with Shahab Jafari’s famous lines, “Tu idhar udhar ki na baat kar, yeh bata ki kafila kyun luta, humein rahjano se gila nahi, teri rahbari ka sawal hai.” The lines roughly translate to: “Don’t change the topic, just say why the caravan was looted, we have nothing to say about the robbers, but this is a question on your leadership.”

The Prime Minister replied with Allama Iqbal’s couplet that drew a smile from Ms Swaraj and cheers from the House. “Mana ki teri did ke kaabil nahin hoon main, tu mera shauq dekh mera intezar dekh” (I know I am not worth your attention, but look at my longing.”

Another war of couplets broke out between the two leaders in 2013 during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.

In a sweet attack on the Opposition, former Prime Minister Singh used Mirza Ghalib’s lines, “Humein unse hai wafa ki ummeed jo nahin jante wafa kya hai.” (We expect loyalty from those who don’t know what loyalty is.”

The Leader of the Opposition responded with two shers. The first one was by Bashir Badr. “Kuch to majuriyan rahi hongi, yun hi koi bewafa nahin hota (There must be a reason for betraying love)”

In her second shayari strike, she added, “Tumhe wafa yaad nahi, Humein jafa yaad nahi, zindagi or maut ke toh do hee tarane hain, ek tumhein yaad nahi, ek humein yaad nahi“. The lines translate to “you don’t remember loyalty and we don’t remember disloyalty, life and death have two rhythms, you don’t remember one, we don’t remember the other.”

When Ms Swaraj died in August 2019, Dr Singh had described her as a great parliamentarian and an exceptionally talented Union minister. “I was shocked to hear about the sudden demise of Sushma Swaraj. I have fond memories of my association with her when she was Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha,” he had said.

With Dr Singh gone today, the two leaders and their ‘shayari jugalbandi’ will now live only in our memories of a less-polarised political discourse when debates in Parliament saw less chaos and more cheers.

New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi grieved the loss of “a mentor and guide” late Thursday after confirmation of the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 92.

In an emotional message on X, Mr Gandhi, in Karnataka’s Belagavi to attend a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, said, “Manmohan Singhji led India with immense wisdom and integrity. His humility and deep understanding of economics inspired the nation.”

“I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the utmost pride,” Mr Gandhi said, “My heartfelt condolences to Mrs Kaur (Mr Singh’s wife) and the family.”

Manmohan Singh Ji led India with immense wisdom and integrity. His humility and deep understanding of economics inspired the nation.

My heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Kaur and the family.

I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the… pic.twitter.com/bYT5o1ZN2R

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 26, 2024

Mr Gandhi’s message underlines the deep connection between the two leaders.

Manmohan Singh emerged as one of Rahul Gandhi’s gurus in his nascent years in Indian politics, particularly after the assassination of his father, ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in May 1991.

Mr Gandhi’s sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also posted a heartfelt message.

READ | “Few Inspired Respect…”: PGV Leads Tributes To Manmohan Singh

“Few people in politics inspire the kind of respect Sardar Manmohan Singhji did. His honesty will always be an inspiration for us, and he will forever stand tall among those who truly love this country… as someone who remained steadfast in his commitment despite being subjected to unfair and deeply personal attacks by his opponents,” the Wayanad MP said.

Few people in politics inspire the kind of respect that Sardar Manmohan Singh ji did.

His honesty will always be an inspiration for us and he will forever stand tall among those who truly love this country as someone who remained steadfast in his commitment to serve the nation… pic.twitter.com/BXA6zHG2Fq

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 26, 2024

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes from the government and senior members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

READ | “One Of India’s Most Distinguished”: PM Modi Mourns Manmohan Singh

“India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr Manmohan Singhji. Rising from humble origins, he rose to become a respected economist. He served in various government positions as well, including as Finance Minister, leaving a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years.”

Manmohan Singh shot to prominence as the Union Finance Minister in the government headed by the late former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.

READ | Manmohan Singh, 2-Time PM And Architect Of India’s Economic Reforms, Dies At 92

It was under Mr Singh’s stewardship that the Indian economy underwent widespread reforms, including opening up to the global market, which completely transformed the economy.

Manmohan Singh then became Prime Minister after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won the 2004 general election. He returned for a second term in 2014.

Mr Singh also served as a member of the Rajya Sabha till April, when he retired.

New Delhi:

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh died at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday. He was 92. 

In a statement, the hospital said the Congress veteran was being treated for age-related medical conditions and had “sudden loss of consciousness at home”. “Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9.51pm,” the statement said.