Leader of good conduct and good conscience

I first met Dr Manmohan Singh when he visited Tripura as then member-secretary of the Planning Commission to understand the problems of the state's tribal communities.

- M Damodaran

Even though we had ploughed our way through muddy roads on a rainy day, he showed considerable interest in understanding the seemingly minor issues placed before him. He had a number of questions for me. Later, he casually remarked that what struck him was not the mastery of information but the passion with which it was communicated. There could have been no better encouragement for a young civil servant in a remote state.

A few years later, he, along with two other Union ministers, AK Antony and PM Sayeed, visited the northeastern states to understand the problems of the civil services and get an idea of the developmental challenges there. I took the three ministers around. At a dinner hosted by the Governor, Dr Singh took me aside and said that when I became due for central deputation, I should meet him. I did not take it seriously at that time. One had heard of Union ministers and other leaders making rich promises to civil servants in the North East cadre, only to forget these on their way back to Delhi. I was to discover that Dr Singh was a glorious exception.