PM Manmohan Singh - A Greatman

 PM Manmohan Singh - A Greatman 

PM Manmohan Singh passed away on December 26 at the ripe age of 92. One of the highly acclaimed academic and intellectual bureaucrat and politician of contemporary India. I saw him often in the PMO corridors in the mid-1970s as an Economic Expert and Advisor to the GOI and PM Indira Gandhi; a simple and humble personality but highly respected in the higher echelons of power. 

In the wake of economic difficulties in India, PM PV Narsimha Rao picked Manmohan Singh, the troubleshooter Finance Minister to address the ills of the economy of India in 1991. He rose to the occasion and became the Economic Reformist FM of India with new liberalised economic policies with considerable success. It  paved the way for his career  as an Economist and Sauve Politician. He became the PM of India by his own right in 2004 and served the country for 10 years with total dedication and dignity. 

I thought of writing this small piece to register my heartfelt condolences on the passing away of the worthy son of India. I am on a personal visit to Stockholm (Sweden) and with the demise of PM Manmohan Singh, a vivid memory of him and his Economic Reforms introduced in 1991 came to the fore. I was posted as First Secretary dealing with  Economic and Commercial matters in the Embassy of India in Stockholm. In the wake of new liberalized economic policies of FM Manmohan Singh, Swedish Trade Council invited me for a briefing and interaction on the new policies. After my brief opening remarks, there was a full-fledged interactive session. The President of the Swedish Trade Council, posed a question whether, in view of the fact that the current Government was a minority government, these policies would stand the test of time or these would be short lived and changed with the change of government. It was a difficult question in the given situation. I responded that what I understood, not as an economic expert but as a diplomat, was that it was not a temporary measure of a government but a gradual process of evolution of policies. These economic reforms to integrate the Indian economy with that of the world with liberalization and transparency would be the national agenda in the days to come. With the change of men at the helm, there may be some deviation from the route but the end destination would remain the same. My audience appreciated my submissions. After a year or so the then Minister of Industry, P.J. Kurien visited Stockholm as the

Co-chairman of the India-Sweden Joint Commission on Economic and Commercial Matters. The Swedish Trade Council hosted a meeting under the aegis of India-Sweden Joint Business Council in the presence of the Indian Minister and his Swedish counterpart. While speaking at the meeting, the President of the Swedish Trade Council said, pointing towards me sitting in front row of the audience, “Here sits the man who told us some months ago that Indian reformed policies were the National agenda of the country. Now we fully believe and appreciate that. I thought of narrating this small thing as my humble tribute to the memory of PM Manmohan Singh, the architect of Indian economic reform to keep India on the rails. 

My heartfelt condolences on his demise. Rest in Peace, Sir.