Liberalisation & liberalism: Legacy of Manmohan Singh

The unexpected eruption of nostalgia and admiration for Manmohan Singh from people across the country is testimony to what he stood for.

- Kaushik Basu

Because of his modesty and refusal to run banner headlines about his achievements, it was easy to overlook his contributions. Now, with his passing, and in hindsight, it is becoming clear how lucky India was to have had a leader like him.

He was a rare politician – a person of outstanding intellect and moral integrity, and the architect of India's most important reforms, from 1991 to 1993. These were transformative for India. One can see this from the pick-up in India's growth rate following the reforms, and the arrival of Indians on the global stage. Today, in the United States (US) and Europe, some of the most prominent researchers, corporate leaders and policymakers are from India. This is the result of our early investment in science and engineering, and the opening up of the economy in the early 1990s initiated by Dr Singh. I have no doubt in my mind that he will go down in history as one of not just India's but the world's most important leaders.

I first met him in the late 1980s. We used to live in an East Delhi housing complex. Dr Singh had finished his term as governor of the Reserve Bank of India. A friend called to ask if he could bring Dr Singh to take a look at our flat. He was looking to buy "a simple apartment" and wanted to get a sense of the homes in our locality. He came and met us and chatted with my mother, who was staying with us in Delhi at that time. He never did move to our complex because, soon thereafter, he was appointed secretary-general of the South Commission in Geneva and after that, in 1991, he became finance minister of India.