“History will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or, for that matter, the Opposition in Parliament,” Manmohan Singh famously said on January 3, 2014 at the last press conference he addressed before stepping down as Prime Minister after being in office for ten long years.
“When I look back, Dr Singh has been proved prophetically correct,” reminisces Congress MP and former Union minister Manish Tewari, who anchored that last press conference held by PM Singh at the National Media Centre.
Tewari served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting from 2012 to 2014 in the UPA 2 government led by Manmohan Singh.
"It was a cold wintry morning. Dr Singh decided to address a mega press conference and gave a brilliant summation of his ten years as Prime Minister. He gave this prophetic reply to a question posed by a journalist on the contemporary political situation," he said.
Why does he think it was prophetically correct?
"Because eventually, Dr Singh as PM presided over some of the greatest initiatives that India has taken, in the last 24 years. They included the India-US civil nuclear deal on which he staked his government, the passage allowing foreign direct investment into multi-brand retails and remember he stabilized India's great power relationships,” said Tewari.
The relationship with China and Russia was better than ever before. "With China, a record number of border management agreements and economic agreements were signed," he said.
The sustained backchannel dialogue with Pakistan during Dr Singh's tenure was one of the highlights of his foreign policy, stressed Tewari.
"If the four-point formula that emerged from the Manmohan-Musharraf talks had been implemented, the dynamics of South Asia would have been different. So Dr Singh was correct when he said that history will judge him kindly," he said.
From a professor next door to a family friend to a political guru, the former PM shared a more-than-five-decade-long relationship with the Congress leader.
"Dr Singh knew me from the day I was born. He was a neighbour in Punjab University, Chandigarh, and close friends with my parents. His wife and my mother were classmates in Victoria School, Patiala. I had a very long, personal, intimate association with him," said the Chandigarh MP.
Reflecting on the personal bond with the former PM, he said Dr Singh always looked upon him fondly, encouraged and guided him. "He was a human being par excellence."
While the former PM is best remembered for his sterling contributions to economic reforms and building a rights-based architecture, Tewari says that Singh’s vision was shaped by his life experiences. "Dr Singh possibly intuitively understood what growth and equity meant along his life journey."
Born in Gah village in present-day Pakistan, Singh came to India with barely a shirt on his back, recollected Tewari.
"Singh understood the struggles of poverty. From the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to the Right to Information (RTI) to the National Food Security Act, RTE to the Street Vendors Act, Dr Singh championed the whole architecture of rights," he said.
While the erudite, soft-spoken Manmohan Singh often faced barbs from his detractors for being a 'remote-controlled PM', 'silent PM', or lacking a political base, Tewari contested such arguments.
"As someone who had the privilege of serving in his government, I can say with full conviction that there was nothing wrong with Dr Singh's political instincts. He always brushed off those insinuations with the contempt they deserve. I don't think he required any certificates from anyone," he said.
"Dr Singh was extremely media friendly and addressed a record number of press conferences, both in India and abroad," Tewari added.
On Singh being called an 'accidental prime minister', he said, "accidental or not, Manmohan Singh was a transformative prime minister. Dr Singh proved his naysayers wrong by even risking his position as Prime Minister to push the landmark India-US nuclear deal."
"Dr Singh firmly believed that India must have access to multi-spectrum sources of energy, because if the economy has to grow, power or energy is the biggest requirement. Notwithstanding that, the Congress had only 146 members in the 14th Lok Sabha. He staked his political career, and political equity and ultimately saw the nuclear deal through," said the Congress leader.
Was the Congress on the same page as Dr Singh on the economic reforms he undertook in 1991? "There are always different points of view. Ultimately, Dr Singh carried the day," he said.
"They ought to be the biggest tribute to Dr Singh's legacy and the fact that the economic reset of 1991 held the field across so many different administrations in the last 34 years or so. He will be remembered as a leading economic manager who brought all his experience to better the lives of millions of Indians," he said.
"He had saddled many roles as chief economic adviser, union finance secretary, RBI governor, and deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, which gave him a unique view of the distinct challenges that India faced economically and strategically," said Tewari.
"As finance minister in 1991, when he reset the Indian economy in the wake of the great global change, Singh opened the doors of opportunity for millions of young people to have a better life, better careers, and rewarding jobs," he added.
