Manmohan Singh’s history will be a kind remark – Manmohan Singh’s history will be a kind remark

“No doubt, history will judge you kindly,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, referencing Manmohan Singh’s own words during his last press conference as prime minister. Singh’s remark, which came amid massive scandals and allegations of “poor leadership”, gained resonance after his death at the age of 92.

Indeed, it stood the test of time as leaders across party lines used the remark to pay tribute to the enduring legacy of the Congress stalwart whose bold economic reforms in 1991 changed the course of India’s growth trajectory.

“I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or, more precisely, the opposition parties in Parliament,” said Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2014. Just ten years later, he has already been proven right,” he said. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

BRS leader KT Rama Rao also used Singh’s famous remark praised the renowned economist. “A silent architect of modern India, a visionary, a true intellectual and a gracious human being! History will indeed be better and grateful to you,” he said.

“Indeed, in his own words, history will treat him much better and more respectfully than he probably did in his time,” Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy pointed out.

THE STORY BEHIND “HISTORY WILL BE BETTER”.

But what made Manmohan Singh make the remarks about the beech end of the UPA-II regime? Even though Singh’s first term as prime minister was unblemished, his second term was marred by major scandals. Despite having a quiet demeanor, Singh withstood many crises such as the coal scam and the 2G spectrum scam that tarnished UPA-II’s tenure.

In fact, in March 2015, Singh was summoned by a special CBI court as an accused in a case related to the coal scam (better known as Coalgate) in which it was alleged that mining rights were awarded without transparency to private firms . The CBI later said there was no “prosecution evidence”.

In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Singh also came under personal attacks, with the opposition labeling him a “silent prime minister”, “accidental prime minister”, “remote control prime minister”. Singh as prime minister and Sonia Gandhi as UPA chairperson led to the perception that it was undermined.

Amid this brouhaha, Manmohan Singh addressed his last press conference in January 2014, asserting that his leadership was not weak.

“I don’t think I was a weak Prime Minister… I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or, for that matter, the Opposition in Parliament… Given the political constraints, I did all I could do,” Singh said before riding into his political sunset.

Even after the BJP came to power in 2014, Singh never remained silent and spoke aggressively in his own way against the policies of the Narendra Modi government, be it demonetisation or GST.

For a man with no experience in politics who rose amidst the odds to become RBI Governor, Finance Minister and then Prime Minister, there is no debate about Singh’s place in history.

The outpouring of tributes to one of India’s tallest leaders shows that history was indeed better with Dr. Manmohan Singh.