(ye jabr bhī dekhā hai tārīḳh kī nazroñ ne (The eyes of history have seen such tyranny,)
lamhoñ ne ḳhatā kī thī sadiyoñ ne sazā paa.ī) (Moments made the mistake; centuries bore the punishment.)
Dr. Manmohan Singh, a connoisseur of Urdu poetry, cherished these lines by Muzaffar Razmi. These words resonate deeply with the story of his own life. A former Prime Minister who looked to history for a fair and generous evaluation has now become a part of that very history, leaving behind the question: how will contemporary Indian society and parliamentary politics assess his legacy?
Interestingly, over the past two days, India’s leading newspapers and news channels have been filled with anecdotes extolling his simplicity, honesty, foresight, courage, and human nature as an economist and a Prime Minister. Glowing tributes have been paid to him.
During his final press conference as Prime Minister, when Dr. Singh somberly left his evaluation to the judgment of time, he might not have imagined that someday even the media would assess him in such glowing terms—precisely when he merged with history.
Yet, a critical question persists: why did a man, whose five-decade-long career as an economist and Prime Minister was marked by unblemished integrity, simplicity, and monumental decisions, feel compelled to leave his evaluation to the future? Why was the present so unkind to him?
On reflection, the answer invariably points to one source: his own party, the Congress—or, more specifically, the Gandhi family. The family spared no effort in portraying Manmohan Singh as a weak and beleaguered Prime Minister.
A Prime Minister Answerable More to the Party than the Government
In 2004, when Sonia Gandhi made the surprising decision to cede the Prime Minister’s chair to Manmohan Singh, it was clear from the outset that he would be more of a face than an independent leader.
Though Singh resided in the Prime Minister’s residence, the real power lay at 10 Janpath and later at 12 Tughlaq Lane. What made matters worse was the family’s brazen acknowledgment that the government’s “remote control” remained firmly in their hands and that the Prime Minister was more answerable to the party than to the government.
The most blatant instance of this came in 2013, when Rahul Gandhi publicly tore up his own government’s ordinance in an act of open defiance. According to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, this incident left Dr. Singh so disheartened that he contemplated resigning. Ahluwalia described the episode in his book Backstage: The Story Behind India’s High Growth Years.
Could this be seen as anything other than Rahul Gandhi undermining Manmohan Singh and his government? How could the media react otherwise?
But this was just one example. The challenges for Singh began right after he assumed office as Prime Minister. Senior officers in the PMO and key government functionaries were often more loyal to Sonia Gandhi than to him. The interference was so extensive that in 2009, without consulting Singh, Sonia Gandhi offered the Finance Minister’s position to Pranab Mukherjee, even though Singh had wanted to appoint C. Rangarajan to the role.
Sanjaya Baru, Manmohan Singh’s media advisor, writes in his book The Accidental Prime Minister that Singh wanted N.N. Vohra as his Principal Secretary, but Sonia Gandhi intervened, leading to the appointment of T.K.A. Nair instead. Similarly, Pulok Chatterji was appointed in the PMO at Sonia’s insistence and was known to report directly to her, bypassing Singh altogether.
Even Cabinet Ministers Dismissed Him
It wasn’t just the Gandhi family—senior ministers like A.K. Antony and Arjun Singh often failed to show him due respect, despite being part of his Cabinet. Baru recounts how Arjun Singh would not even stand up when Manmohan Singh entered the room during Cabinet meetings or public events.
Baru highlights that while Sonia Gandhi made Singh Prime Minister, she never gave him actual power. The National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Sonia Gandhi, effectively controlled the government. While successful initiatives like MGNREGA and RTI were attributed to Sonia Gandhi, any shortcomings or failures were blamed squarely on Singh and his administration.
According to Baru, the few mistakes Singh made were largely due to excessive interference from Sonia Gandhi and the Congress. For instance, Singh did not want A. Raja and T.R. Baalu in his Cabinet, but party pressure forced him to include them.
The One Decision That Was Entirely His
Despite these challenges, there were moments when Singh left his indelible mark as Prime Minister. The most notable was the 2006 India-US nuclear deal. Not only did the CPI(M) and CPM oppose the agreement, but Sonia Gandhi herself reportedly wanted Singh to reconsider.
However, Singh stood his ground, even threatening to resign during a Congress meeting. Ultimately, despite the Left withdrawing support, Singh succeeded in both securing the agreement and saving his government.
This nuclear deal remains one of Singh’s defining decisions, taken without any “remote control” influence. Today, India has 23 operational nuclear reactors generating 7,425 MW of electricity, with plans to nearly triple this capacity by 2031. India’s position as the sixth-largest producer of nuclear energy globally owes much to this agreement—and to Singh’s determination.
Undoubtedly, history will evaluate Singh more generously than his contemporaries did. Perhaps even the present would have been kinder had the Congress (read: the Gandhi family) not undermined him at every turn. It is unfortunate that these efforts to belittle him continued even on the day of his final journey.
