My favourite professor was taking the class. I was still getting to terms with everything that was happening around the hallowed lanes of the Institute of Development Studies(IDS), considered among the leading institutes in the world. Prof. M was doing his third class. I was literally floored by the man in his first two classes; It almost felt like a dream to be sitting there. Suddenly the professor's face became bright. He started talking about his time as a young man learning from, who he considered among the greatest brains in the world! Dr.Manmohan Singh!
Yesterday I was playfully chiding a colleague about me being a part of 'gen z' and not 'gen y'. Well, I hardly care about the alphabets attributed to generations. But I'm truly happy that I belonged to the generation which enjoyed the fruits of Dr.Manmohan.
Till the early 90s, India was called the land of poverty and filth. The land of snake charmers. The closed country of intrigue and mystery. We had closed our economies to the outside world. The government was mandated to provide everything. Private capital was seen as a dirty word. We waited for years to get a telephone connection. Maruti was the only car available, and that, only for the rich. My dad said he waited for a few years after he ordered chetak scooter. Only the government-provided education and only an abysmally low number could be accommodated. Government jobs were the norm; There was a middle class waiting to explode.
The year was 1991 when Dr.Manmohan did what is now called the dream budget. He removed import controls, and let the world look at the Indian market. He cut customs and excise duties. Exports were promoted. In the sectors which did not warrant government intervention, he opened out the markets Suddenly the IT boom and the manufacturing sector looked at an Indian middle class. India which was growing at around 1-2% GDP, started seeing double-digit growths. A generation of middle-class Indians including me lived the dream. His dream!
As I entered the hallowed lanes of LSE, there was his picture, right there on the walls along with those of the other great economists of our generation. The great Cambridge university has a chair in his name.
In times, when mediocrity and noise are being celebrated, Dr.Manmohan Singh may be an outlier. But history truly will treat him kinder. For a real light can never be hidden!
Happy Birthday, Dr.Manmohan Singh! You are the original Indian reformer. And I'm truly thankful as one of the beneficiaries.
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