‘How will I be judged by history?’ Did Manmohan Singh grapple with the question as many leaders do? Maybe that was why he once said, “History will judge me more kindly.” The answer to this question is straightforward.
Look at the newspaper headlines of the last three days. They are all filled with praise for him. Social media is replete with thousands of posts and videos related to him. Such a shower of accolades by a society quick to forget even its greatest luminaries, on a person who faded into political oblivion a decade ago, shows his work will receive due recognition even as the years pass.
I will give you a few examples to prove my point. A group of journalists were once accompanying Prime Minister (PM) Singh on a visit to Beijing. Singh’s media adviser, Sanjay Baru, announced that the PM will be speaking with us on the flight. His government was surviving at the mercy of the Left parties at the time. The Left was unyielding in its position that India didn’t need nuclear energy and was stridently against any deal with the United States (US). It had made it amply clear that if the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government went ahead with a deal with the US, it would immediately withdraw support.
The PM, on being was asked how his government will have a deal with the US when the biggest coalition partner was threatening to walk out on the issue, replied, “Not all our wishes need to be realised; at times, we have to step back for the greater good.”
In reality, that wasn’t the case. Singh’s withdrawal was tactical. His party, the Congress, was in secret talks with Mulayam Singh. At that time, the Samajwadi Party had enough Members of Parliament to save the government from falling even if the Left parties walked out of the coalition. The government meanwhile was engaged in hectic parleys with the US to finalise the terms of the impending deal.
This was revealed on the next trip. Some of us were with him on a flight to Japan. We asked if he would discuss the nuclear deal with the president of the US when he met him in Japan. Singh firmly said, “Sure.” The next question was about what was likely to happen to the Left parties as they were adamant about withdrawing support to the government. He replied that the government had taken a step, and, at times, in the interest of the nation, risks needed to be taken. “Now, it’s up to our friends to stand with us or not,” he stated.
Everyone knew how the Left parties would react. It was the first time in the history of independent India that a PM had flown overseas with a majority in Parliament, and before touchdown on foreign soil, his government had been reduced to a minority. The Left parties withdrew their support. What followed is well documented. The Samajwadi Party supported the government. Not only did his government complete its term, he was able to win the next elections too.
By nature, Singh was a man of few words, and he uttered those precious few words very softly. Loudmouth politicians spent their energies trying to prove he was weak. But was he? Absolutely not. Let me narrate another incident.
On another trip to Japan, I requested Baru for a meeting with the PM. After lunch, everyone was in a mood to rest. Suddenly, I spotted Baru beckoning from a distance. He told me the PM was ready to meet me.
During our conversation, I told Singh that he should campaign in Punjab for the upcoming elections. Apart from addressing public rallies, he should stay for a night in Amritsar and visit Harmandir Sahib. It may not win him the elections, but as he was the first Sikh PM of the country, his actions would help assuage the hurt nursed by the Sikh community after Operation Bluestar and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Along with Punjab, I suggested that he visit Sikh-dominated areas in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand where elections were due in a couple of months as it would help the party. Within no time, I saw the effect of my suggestions.
Baru came to me smiling and said you have increased my workload. The PM had asked him to prepare for a visit to Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In those days, there were reports in the newspapers that the Congress hadn’t extended an invitation to Singh to address any election rally.
Let me give you another example of his resoluteness. We were in the beautiful Russian city of Ekaterinburg. This is the same place where Tsar Nicholas and his entire family were murdered in a church after the Bolshevik Revolution. During the visit, a photo shoot was organised for Singh with Pakistan’s then-president Asif Ali Zardari. At such events, international leaders generally keep quiet or utter generalities. The global media was watching when the two met. Singh knew the event was being telecast live. Before Zardari could smile, Manmohan dropped a verbal bomb. He said, “Mr President, my country hasn’t elected me twice to tolerate anyone exporting terror to our soil.” Zardari wasn’t prepared for this. Before a stunned Zardari could recover, the photo session was over. Can a weak person act so boldly?
Future generations will remember Manmohan Singh as a visionary PM who not only dreamt of a developed India in the 21st century but paved the path to this in the last decade of the 20th century.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views are personal
