Strictly Personal

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and wife Gursharan Kaur’s biography, written by their daughter Daman Singh has a narrative candidness that defies biographies written by family members.

Daman begins with Manmohan Singh’s birth to parents Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur on 26 September, 1932 in British India’s Gah village in the Chakwal district of (now Pakistani) Punjab. In early 1947, the family had sensed disquieting violence and migrated to Amritsar as a result. Gah remained a largely unknown, sleepy little hamlet till 22 May, 2004 when Singh was sworn in as India’s Prime Minister. Pakistan’s Punjab government then developed Gah into a model village to honor Manmohan Singh. The former Pakistan president, Pervez Musharraf presented the first couple a watercolor painting depicting the village which now hangs in their bedroom. The people of Gah often visit India to ‘meet their own son’ because of which both Manmohan and his wife have a collection of gifts from Gah such as its gift-wrapped soil and handmade footwear. They also get to taste the famous revadis (sweets) of Chakwal regularly.

Here the biographer mourns the demeaned cultural ethos of both India and Pakistan due to the forced separation of the sister cities of Lahore and Amritsar, a familiar lament leant poignancy because of the author’s own family history.

Narrating Singh’s journey from Punjab University, Lahore’s pre-school in 1947 to enrollment in a makeshift Punjab University, Hoshiarpur in India, Daman follows his life chronologically, laying bare the wounds of Partition along the way. The Indian Punjab University finally got its permanent campus in Chandigarh where Manmohan Singh taught later. From Punjab University to St John’s College, Cambridge to Nuffield College, Oxford his educational journey is fascinatingly described.

The personal is inevitably intertwined with the political as the author discusses the Indo-Pak thaw of 1953 when road and railway services were resumed, providing a ray of hope for people-to-people contact. Cricket diplomacy in 1955 welcomed Indian spectators to Lahore where visiting Indians were provided free food and accommodation, while tongawallahs refused to charge fares in gestures of affinity.

This biography reprints Singh’s letters to friends from Cambridge full of keen assessment of British universities, from praise of their multiculturalism to criticism of their ethnic & racial discriminations. They also showcase his zeal for higher studies even in the face of financial crises.

Manmohan Singh and Gursharan Kaur’s marriage in 1958 is the event that turns this book ‘strictly personal.’ We get glimpses into interesting, everyday incidents like the groom’s side forgetting to arrange for the photographer to the bride not being able to wear her designer wedding dress. The humble beginnings of their family life and the strict upbringing of three daughters who had complete freedom to choose their careers harks back to a simpler time in India’s history. The family’s strict disciplinarian lifestyle makes for an insightful read in the age of indulgent parents and iPads and laptops for every child in the household.

The people of Gah often visit India to 'meet their own son'

Gurusharan Kaur was born to Sardar Chattar Singh Kohli and Bhagwanti Kaur in Jalandhar on 13 September, 1937. Her family lived in Dhakkam village in the Jhelum district of Punjab before partition. In 1956, she graduated in political science, music and English, but music was her lifetime passion for which she even occasionally appeared on Jalandhar Radio.

The book also contains Manmohan Singh’s impression of the Governors of Central Banks in Asia meeting in Pakistan in 1984 and his earlier visit to Islamabad in 1968 for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), during which he visited Panja Saheb near Rawalpindi to buy Urdu books. Shopkeepers refused to take money from the esteemed ‘guest.’

Service in the United Nations (1966–69) gave Manmohan Singh global exposure. Professorship at Punjab University; honorary Professorship at Delhi School of Economics and serving in the UNCTAD and South Commission policy think tank in Geneva (1987–1990) were other key exposures that shaped Singh’s economic ideas. His 1962 doctoral thesis on India’s export performance was later published as an epoch-making book, India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth that is still popular in economic circles.

In 1991, when India faced great economic crisis, P.V. Narasimha Rao inducted apolitical Singh in the cabinet as Finance Minister to help shape a strong economic plan. His reforms and economic liberalization measures saved India from bankruptcy.

When the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power in 2004, surprisingly, Manmohan Singh was offered the premiership. Elections in 2009 brought back UPA in power with an increased mandate and he retained office for the second term. Serving as the prime minister from 22 May, 2004 to 26 May, 2014, he became the longest serving Prime Minister of India after Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Daman Singh’s biography of Manmohan Singh and Gurusharan Kaur opens up many facets of their life from childhood till now, giving a complete portrayal of Singh’s academic, public service, political and economic farsightedness, and hence a good read for both students of Indian history and amateur economic enthusiasts.

The reviewer is assistant professor and media relations specialist at the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education. He worked earlier as an executive producer in ETV Networks; editorial coordinator at Management Development Institute and media specialist at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University.