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Last Updated:December 27, 2024, 09:24 IST
While late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe considered Dr Manmohan Singh his "guru", former US President Barack Obama saw him as a "historic figure."
In this Nov. 8, 2010 file photo, 44TH US President Barack Obama and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh greet each other after addressing a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. (Image: PTI)
Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India, breathed his last on Thursday, December 26. While India mourned his death, the world bid goodbye to a “wise, thoughtful" leader.
Dr Manmohan Singh is remembered as the architect of India’s economic reforms. India faced its worst economic crisis and was on the brink of a sovereign default. The 1990-91 Gulf War had led to sharp increase in oil prices and a fall in remittances from the Indian workers working overseas led to the sharp depletion in India’s forex reserves at less than $ 6 billion. India’s forex reserves had shrunk to cover only three weeks of imports.
Before this, the caretaker government of Chandra Shekhar took the eminently sensible advise of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to pledge the gold followed by a largely confidential operation whereby nearly 47 tonnes of gold was shipped off to destinations abroad in four tranches through July, which helped raise about $ 400 Million for the government. The reforms brought by Dr Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister under the Prime Ministership of PV Narasimha Rao liberalised the Indian economy and changed Indian economy forever. Before that year ended, India had paid off the loans for which the gold had been pledged, and Dr Manmohan Singh became a leader seen and appreciated across the globe.
India-US Nuclear deal which had his personal touch
This was Dr Manmohan Singh’s biggest success. The 2008 deal ended India’s nuclear isolation and opened access to nuclear technology. The deal also allowed India to strengthen its relationship with the US and the rest is history. The nuclear deal is considered as one that opened the gates for robust India-US Ties
Since 1974, India’s nuclear program had been highly controversial. India was blocked from getting civilian nuclear technology and other vital tech from foreign countries. This also stopped India from building a strong strategic relationship with major western powers.
While the Indo-US nuclear deal opened gates for India globally, it was deeply controversial at home. The Congress’s allies on the Left, especially the CPI (M), strongly opposed the deal. But Dr Manmohan Singh pushed for it till the end despite scandals like ‘cash for votes’. His courage to put the entire government at stake to get the deal done will be remembered by generations to come.
How Dr Manmohan Singh Ensured India Remained A Respected Neighbour
During his tenure from 2004-14, India’s neighbourhood saw a major change. Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives became democratic during this period. This was particularly important in Nepal. After a long civil war, India played a role in ending the monarchy and bringing the rebel Maoists into mainstream democracy. During his tenure, India developed good relations with the then Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s significant 2007 visit to India, where he first raised the idea of the Quad, took place in Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure.
The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack
What Manmohan Singh is often criticised for is his government’s inaction after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai and his attitude of engaging with Pakistan. The 26/11 attacks in 2008 claimed the lives of 166 people. India’s government, led by Dr Singh, had enough proof to prove that Pakistan had hands in it. Despite this, India, under his leadership, did not us force to retaliate. Instead Dr Singh stressed on building pressure on Pakistan through dialogue and diplomacy.
Controversial Sharm-al-Sheikh Pact
In July 2009, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Egyptian resort Sharm-al-Sheikh. A joint statement was issued at the end of the talks delinking composite dialogue. The statement, for the first time, mentioned Baluchistan, the first such mention in any India-Pakistan joint statement ever.
The mention of Baluchistan is significant because Pakistan has, for long, accused India of supporting insurgency there. The UPA government was heavily criticised for the mention of Baluchistan in the joint statement but Dr Manmohan Singh continued to favour the route of dialogue and diplomacy to deal with Pakistan.
Afghanistan
Dr Manmohan Singh was the first Indian prime minister to visit Afghanistan in 29 years. During his 2005 visit, big ticket announcements like India building the Parliament house of Afghanistan came. India earlier provided 400 buses and was laying a power transmission line from the border of Uzbekistan to Kabul and building a road to Iran’s Chahbahar port.
Right after Osama Bin Laden was killed by the US forces and Pakistan was exposed in front of whole world, Dr Manmohan Singh again paid a visit to Afghanistan and pledged a further $500 million to the country over the next six years. Dr Singh made the announcement in Kabul. The money was in addition to the $1.5 billion already promised.
China
In 2005, an agreement between India and China, on the political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement of the boundary question, was signed. This was seen as a landmark agreement and Article 4 of this agreement provided guidelines for handling face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops. But China started giving stapled visas under Dr Singh’s regime and went aggressive on the issue of Arunachal Pradesh. India also stopped reiterating its ‘One China Policy’.
The year 2013 witnessed the Depsang border crisis with an incursion by a sized contingent of the Chinese PLA in the river bed of Raki Nala. Indian forces responded to the Chinese presence by quickly establishing their own encampment 300 metres away. Negotiations between the two sides lasted for three weeks and the dispute was resolved. As a part of the resolution, Indian military agreed to refrain from constructing bunkers 250 kms away in the Chumar sector.
Later in October 2013, then PM Dr Manmohan Singh met with Chinese Premier Li Kequing when both countries signed a border defence cooperation agreement seeking to facilitate ways and means to implement border defence co-operation.
What Global Leaders Said About Dr Manmohan Singh
Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe considered Dr Manmohan Singh his mentor or ‘guru’. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, too, took Dr Singh’s advice on economic issues. She reportedly sought Dr Singh’s help when she held the eurozone crisis meeting in 2013.
Former US President Barack Obama is an admirer of Dr Singh. He called Dr Singh “wise, thoughtful, and scrupulously honest" during his tenure as the PM of India. Obama called Dr Singh a “historic figure."
Speaking on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Toronto (Canada) in 2010, then US President Barack Obama had said for Dr Singh, “I can tell you that here at G20, when the Prime Minister speaks, people listen."
Location : First Published:December 27, 2024, 09:24 IST
News india 'When He Speaks, People Listen': How Global Leaders Saw Dr Manmohan Singh
