'Special Man At A Special Time': British Journalist's Glowing Tribute To Manmohan Singh
A British journalist admired how the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh always focused on important economic ideas.
Dr Manmohan Singh, one of India’s most influential leaders, passed away in December. He is remembered for making key changes to the country’s economy and helping India recover from a financial crisis. As one of India’s longest serving Prime Ministers, his impact was recently remembered by British journalist and economic expert Martin Wolf, who had known Singh since 1974. Calling him a “special man at a special time," Wolf admired how the former PM always focused on important economic ideas and was open to hearing others’ thoughts.
Martin Wolf also highlighted Manmohan Singh’s key achievements, including the nuclear deal with the US, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Aadhaar. According to Wolf, Manmohan Singh’s legacy includes showing public service can be “intelligent, informed and honourable."
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Martin Wolf expressed his thoughts in a special piece titled – “An economically dynamic India is Manmohan Singh’s greatest legacy" for the Financial Times.
He wrote, “Singh’s most important achievements as a policymaker were made during his years as finance minister from 1991 to 1996. He was appointed, to his surprise, by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, at a time of a huge foreign exchange crisis. He seized the opportunity to deliver radical reform of an anti-trade and anti-market policy regime that had crippled India’s economy since independence. He had known of these errors since he wrote India’s Export Trends, his doctoral thesis at Oxford, published in 1964. With the prime minister’s backing, Singh duly transformed India’s policy regime."
Martin Wolf explained how Manmohan Singh played a major role in changing India with important reforms. These included opening up trade, reducing government control over industries, allowing more freedom in finance and introducing a more modern system for managing money, without the Reserve Bank of India directly funding the government.
Martin Wolf also questioned if these changes will continue to benefit India in the future and whether the nation will be able to reach its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, a hundred years after getting independence. Despite this, Wolf acknowledged India’s large and growing population of 1.4 billion, which, according to the journalist, has the power to become an economic superpower.
The British journalist remembered what former US President Barack Obama once said, “When the prime minister speaks, the world listens."
Martin Wolf added that India gained a lot because powerful leaders trusted Manmohan Singh to make the right decisions during important times. The former PM brought knowledge, wisdom and experience to the table, qualities that are often ignored by today’s leaders. Singh also understood the value of working with talented and capable team members.
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