Amartya Sen on Dr. Manmohan Singh: "I hope his vision will continue to be an essential part of our understanding of who we are."
Amartya Sen on Dr. Manmohan Singh: "I hope his vision will continue to be an essential part of our understanding of who we are."
Health care, education, and caste divisions are areas where Manmohan could have been more vocal, particularly in making his private concerns more publicly known.
Amartya Sen on Dr. Manmohan Singh: "I hope his vision will continue to be an essential part of our understanding of who we are."
To say that Manmohan Singh was a great man would be stating the obvious. He was a brilliant political leader, a visionary thinker, an exceptional economist, an esteemed academic, an exemplary administrator, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and a deeply compassionate human being.
On a personal level, he was also the warmest of friends for nearly 70 years. From the time, 69 years ago, when I first visited him in his undergraduate rooms at St John’s College in Cambridge, I have been continually struck by his wisdom, humility, and kindness.
We were absolutely thrilled at the Delhi School of Economics when we successfully persuaded Manmohan to join us. He was an outstanding teacher and a favorite among the students, but he always made time to engage with his colleagues as well.
I have been incredibly privileged to interact with Manmohan in his many roles: first as a fellow student, then as an international civil servant, later as a wonderful colleague at the Delhi School of Economics, followed by his tenure as a senior civil servant. I had the opportunity to work with him when he was leading the International South Commission based in Geneva, then as a statesman—including his time as one of the most innovative Finance Ministers in modern India's history—and finally as the Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy. Over the years, we discussed thousands of topics on what seemed like millions of occasions, and I always learned immensely from our conversations.
I must admit, however, that despite his efforts, Manmohan was not fully successful in teaching me to be as modest as he was. I have countless memories of the Prime Minister of India patiently waiting for others around the table to finish speaking before he spoke himself. And in India, waiting for others to finish can take quite a long time
Aside from feeling a sense of satisfaction in Manmohan’s inability to teach me his level of courtesy, I wish he had been a little less modest and spoken more often. He had incredibly important things to share with both India and the world. It would have been remarkable if some of the thoughts, which he conveyed with inescapable hesitation in private conversations, had been expressed more freely—and at greater length—in his public statements.
Manmohan maintained the same well-mannered reticence wherever he went, but when prompted, he could be amazingly eloquent and profound. I had the privilege of dining next to Michelle Obama at the Obamas' first-ever gala dinner at the White House in honor of Manmohan, where I was seated as his guest. Michelle repeatedly asked him to share his thoughts on various topics, and he offered extraordinarily insightful answers. I often think how wonderful it would have been if someone as brilliant as Michelle Obama had conducted a “one-on-one conversation” with Manmohan to share his wisdom with the world.
"Manmohan’s deep understanding of the need for unity and social justice in India resonates with me whenever I reflect on these ongoing challenges. While he is primarily known as the architect of India’s economic liberalisation (a role he undoubtedly fulfilled), it is important to remember that he never lost sight of the necessity for equity in economic progress—especially in terms of improving employment and income for the poor. Cultivating the wealth of the rich—and the super-rich—was never his priority.
I wish Manmohan could have done more on elementary healthcare for all, on expanding general education, and on addressing the inequities of caste divisions. It is particularly unfortunate that he accomplished less than he had hoped in these areas and struggled to generate greater enthusiasm for these issues within India’s practical politics. These are areas where Manmohan could have been more vocal, particularly in making his private concerns more public. We often discussed Ambedkar’s vision of India, but sadly, that vision didn’t receive as much attention in Manmohan’s speeches, though his frustration was often expressed.
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On another note, Manmohan’s commitment to secularism was unwavering. Both in private conversations and in his public actions, his focus on secularism was clear. As the commitment to secularism has eroded in India, and religion has increasingly entered Indian politics, Manmohan’s secular priorities are all the more vital to remember.
His profound understanding of the necessity of unity in India remains exceptionally relevant today. For Manmohan, distinguishing between religion and religious politics was crucial. Alongside keeping religion out of politics, there was another aspect to Manmohan’s religious neutrality.
Religion was important to Manmohan, especially religious customs. I recall visiting his room at St. John’s College in 1956, where I stumbled against freshly washed turbans hanging around the room to dry. However, his Sikh identity was never in conflict with his acceptance of others' religions and practices.
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When we discussed this aspect of religion, I found myself thinking that his form of religion-neutrality was quite distinct from the standard secularism of simply keeping religion out of politics. It reminded me of a passage from the Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra, one of my favorite Sanskrit texts. In its Chinese translation by Kumarajiva in 401 AD, which became the first printed book in the world in 868 AD, the Buddha tells his disciple Subhuti: ‘Those who set forth on the path of bodhisattva know, see, and believe all dharmas, but know, see, and believe them without attachment to the perception of one singular dharma.’"
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