Manmohan Singh (1932-2024): The Gentle Giant

Dr Manmohan Singh, the economist turned politician, served as prime minister of India for two terms, joining the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi as one of India's longest-serving prime ministers. His two terms as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2009 and 2009 to 2014, were periods of high economic growth for India. However, his legacy extends to way before he held the highest executive office in the country. He has held almost all posts of significance to the economic welfare of the country, its industry and its people: from Governor of RBI to head of the Planning Commission and, crucially, as Finance Minister during an economic crisis, that saw India shed its Licence Raj and embrace market economics.

Tributes pour in as India mourns death of former PM Manmohan Singh | LIVE

Born in 1932 in Punjab Province of what is now Pakistan, Manmohan Singh migrated to Amritsar during partition. He completed his Matriculation, Bachelor's and Master's from Punjab University before heading to the University of Cambridge, where he earned his honours degree in Economics in 1957.

After this, he earned his doctorate in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962.

Manmohan Singh's political career began after he joined the government of India in 1971 as an economic advisor for the Ministry of Commerce. Soon, he was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry.

Following his term at the Finance Ministry in 1972, Dr Singh held several governmental positions such as Secretary in the Ministry of Finance; Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Advisor of the Prime Minister; and Chairman of the University Grants Commission.

Under the leadership of PV Narasimha Rao, Dr Singh served as the finance minister from 1991 to 1996. During his tenure, the economist played a key role in the liberalisation of the Indian economy, which allowed it to speed up development dramatically. His budgets reduced import tariffs and opened up the economy, bringing in foreign players to the Indian market and ringing in the era of globalisation for India.

Under his leadership, India recorded its highest GDP growth of 9 per cent and became the second fastest-growing major economy.

After the Congress party won the general elections of 2004, Dr Singh was tapped by Sonia Gandhi for the top post in the government. During his tenure as Prime Minister, major strides were made in the health and education sectors with the introducing the National Rural Health Mission and the Right to Education Act. His tenure also saw the introduction of the MGNREGS for rural employment guarantee.

While the world reeled under the impact of the 2008 economic crisis, India's relative stability has been credited at least in part to deft management by Dr. Singh. His repute is reflected in the then US President Barack Obama's comment at the 2010 G20 meeting, "I can tell you that here at G20, when the Prime Minister speaks, people listen".

The big test for Dr. Singh's political savvy was the civilian nuclear deal with the US, which was finalised in 2008 after much political haggling with alliance partners in the UPA coalition as well as within the Congress party. During his second tenure as PM, his image would take a beating with the the 2G scam. After the Congress went out of power in 2014, Dr. Singh remained a respected voice as Rajya Sabha member.

Dr Singh is survived by his wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur and three daughters - Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh.