“I am a small man in this big chair”: that’s how Manmohan Singh started the conversation when I first met him officially at his home office at 7 Race Course Road. The decency, the unassuming honesty and the simplicity of the statement remained an underlying theme for over 28 months while I worked with him.
He was a visionary when it came to the nation’s economic affairs, a consensus maker when it came to implementing that vision and an empathetic guardian to the people he was representing as a prime minister. And he could achieve all that because of his unstinting humility.
Singh’s vision was grounded in pragmatism and economic foresight. He dismantled the License Raj, a system of stringent regulations that stifled entrepreneurial activity, and initiated structural reforms that opened the Indian economy to foreign investment and competition.
“India’s strength is in the entrepreneurship of its people, all they need is an opportunity,” he would always say when discussing that period.
Policies aimed at trade liberalisation, financial sector reforms and privatisation were introduced to unleash India’s growth potential. These measures not only stabilised the economy but also set the stage for India’s emergence as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
His first term – supported by the Left Front ironically – turned out to be the best time for India’s economy.
“All ideologies are to deliver a better future to the people, so I have no difficulties in working with differing ideologies,” was his mantra. He reminisced about his work at the South Commission, where he worked with differing worldviews successfully.
While Singh is often celebrated for his role in economic liberalisation, his vision extended beyond mere GDP growth. He consistently advocated for inclusive growth, emphasising the importance of equity, social justice and the upliftment of marginalised communities.
As prime minister, his government launched a series of welfare initiatives aimed at ensuring that economic growth translated into better living standards for all sections of society. When he realised that the government didn’t have the capacity to deliver, the National Advisory Council was not only constituted but given a mandate for probity and oversight.
One of the flagship programs introduced during his tenure was the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, much maligned by the current regime but whose allocations steadily increased in its tenure as this is a mantra to keep distress in our hinterland in check.
One of his greatest satisfactions as prime minister and an economist was that more than 27 crore Indians were lifted from poverty between 2005-6 and 2015-16, a period largely coinciding with his ten years as prime minister.
Singh’s administration also prioritised education and healthcare. The Right to Education Act was enacted, making education a fundamental right for every child in India. As a deprived child himself, he knew the wages of poverty first-hand.
“My uncle bought me a pair of shoes for the first time when I cleared matriculation and had to go to a nearby town for further studies,” he once reminisced. The fruits of economic progress for him were useless until they reached the poor in some form or another. The right to education and right to food were two such legislations that underscored big personal satisfaction for him.
His legacy lies in his ability to balance economic growth with social equity. His life and work epitomise the idea that economic policies must serve as instruments of human development. By focusing on the needs of the underprivileged and advocating for a just global economic order, he demonstrated that economic growth and inclusivity are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly spoke with him over the phone for advice on handling the Eurozone crisis before she went into the first meeting to discuss the crisis in Greece.
Singh’s achievements have inspired generations of policymakers, economists and students worldwide. His intellectual humility, unwavering integrity and dedication to public service set a benchmark for leadership in both national and global contexts.
When I see the TV screens tonight, where people are heaping praise on him from across the political divide, I feel a bit angry and in pain. He needed more love and respect while he was alive. And his words ring louder tonight: “History will be kinder to me.”
Goodbye doctor saab, prime minister and friend.
Pankaj Pachauri is a TV anchor and journalist who served as communications adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office when Manmohan Singh was PM.
