The Akhand Paath of Sri Guru Granth Sahib was started on the first of January at the residence of Dr Manmohan Singh (fondly known as MMS), the Ex -Prime Minister of India, who passed away on 26th December 2024. The Paath (reading of entire Sri Guru Granth Sahib) in his memory was completed in the morning of 03 January 2025. His wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur even recited a shabad at the conclusion of Sri Akhand Paath. On the same day in the afternoon from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM there was Shabad Kirtan and Antim Ardas at Gurudwara Sri Rakab Ganj.
The homage program was well attended by ordinary citizens to higher echelon in politics sitting next to each other, rubbing shoulders. The special arrangements at the Gurudwara were for 3000 people, and the mood was serene yet contemplative as the strains of kirtan sung by Bhai Harjinder Singh Ji Sri Nagar Wale reverberated in the air. The famous ragi also happened to be a family favorite of the Singhs, and he had flown in from the US to pay his respects. Besides the chief of SGPC, DSGMC, and Ex-Jathedar Sri Akal Takht were in attendance to pay their homage.
Earlier on 28th December 2024 his state funeral was held at the Nigambodh Ghat, which was attended by all state functionaries including the President, Prime Minister, Congress leaders, top Military brass etc. It was a rare unifying stage on a gray foggy day, where all pollical rivalries were set aside to honor the humble leader, in a world full of egoistic leaders.
The funeral pyre was lit by Upinder Singh, eldest of the three daughters of MMS. His second daughter Daman Singh, a writer has written a book titled “Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan” an intimate portrayal of the lives of her parents. Their third daughter Amrit Singh is human rights lawyer based in USA. Before the remains were consigned to flames, the security forces performed a three-rifle volley and buglers played ‘Last Post’ as a mark of honor to the departed soul.
Dr Manmohan Singh was born in a remote village of Gah (Chakwal District, now in Pakistan) on 26th September 1932. His early education was in a modest two room primary school there. After the partition he moved to Amritsar and studied there. He completed his BA, and MA from Panjab University, and completed his DPhil in Economics from Oxford. He worked for United Nations during the 1966 – 1969 period. Then he taught at Delhi School of Economics teaching Trade Finance. His students remember him for his simplicity, who arrived at the campus in public buses, and taught with rigor.
He was inducted into a bureaucratic career as an advisor in the ministry of Commerce and Industry. He rose to become Chief Economic Advisor (1972 – 1976), Governor of Reserve Bank of India (1982 – 1985), and Head of Planning Commission (1985 -1987). In 1991 as India faced a severe economic crisis, then PM Narasimha Rao inducted him as the finance minister. Despite the strong opposition to his bitter pills of structural reforms, he implemented those that liberalized India’s economy. He is still remembered for contributions that averted the economics crisis of the nation.
He was leader of the opposition from 1998 - 2004 in Rajya Sabha. After 2004 elections he was inducted as Prime Minister, in a surprise move Sonia Gandhi, President of Congress Party. In 2005 he apologized in the parliament speech about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which was not palatable to some political elements and made it controversial. He became Prime Minister second time after 2009 elections. He made his first official visit to US during President Obama’s tenure in November 2009. In his memoir Obama wrote that “Dr. Singh, an eminent economist, had managed to lift millions of people from poverty and that the markings of his Sikh faith made him look “holy” in the eyes of the west.”
In 2009, Singh was amongst the leaders who laid the foundation of BRICS. In 2010 Newsweek, a leading American weekly recognized him as a world leader, who is respected by other heads of state. Even Nitin Gadkari Transport Minister in Modi’s BJP government said the “country is indebted to Manmohan Singh for the liberalization that gave a new direction”. He held the PM’s position till 26th May 2014. He was member of Rajya Sabha from 2019 to 2024.
Today that humblest of the leader who drove Maruti Car is no more with us, but his humility, simplicity, and contributions will continue to serve as an inspiration for generations to come.
By: Bhupinder ‘Bo’ Singh (Reporting from Delhi)
