Strengths:
His vast knowledge as an economist and an academic are his biggest assets. His Oxford-Cambridge days and a studious demeanour in public helped attach an aura of reverence and sophistication to the office of the prime minister. In the high-decibel world of Indian politics, where loose cannons abound and just about anybody who is a somebody has an ‘opinion’ to air, Manmohan has stood out as a rare breed.
Weaknesses:
His silence has often painted him as a weak character and a poor motivator or a team leader. In the 10 years that he has been the prime minister, there are several people among his close circle of civil servants in the PMO who will vouch for his integrity and demeanour. But as the numero uno of the Union Cabinet, he time and again failed to crack the whip when it was needed the most. Even within the Congress party rank and file, Manmohan Singh as a leader is hardly an inspiring figure. His austerity with words could perhaps only be matched by a monk in a monastery or a Zen master. But such qualities cannot and will not transform into votes for his party.
Opportunities:
Now that the compulsions of governance and institutional protocol are about to come to an end, perhaps it is time for the octogenarian to get back to what he loves the most and what comes to him naturally: Academics. He has a standing offer from Cambridge to teach as a guest faculty. Apart from Cambridge, there are several other premier Indian and foreign institutions that will only be too happy to rope in Manmohan as part of its visiting faculty. On a different plane, he can play the role of a mentor to Rahul Gandhi, who can actually learn a thing or two about handling truant coalition partners from him.
Threats:
Right through his stint as the prime minister, he was busy defending someone or the other – be it nurturing Sonia’s ambition of one day seeing Rahul as the PM or lending credence to Rahul’s occasional jibes at his own party and the PM. But now that he is about to hang up his boots as a politician, he may suddenly find himself all alone – trying to defend his own credentials. The shadow of the coal block allocations and 2G Spectrum scams loom large over the PMO and should a new government come to power this summer, Manmohan may well be the target of a vindictive witch hunt – particularly if the new dispensation is led by Narendra Modi.
Profile
- Name: Manmohan Singh
- Born: September 26, 1932
- Place of birth: Gah, Punjab (now part of Pakistan)
- Wife: Gursharan Kaur
- Children: Upinder, Daman and Amrit.
- Alma mater: Punjab University, Chandigarh; St John’s College, Cambridge;
- Nuffield College, Oxford.
- Employment recital: Professor of International Trade, Delhi School of Economics; Governor, Reserve Bank of India; Deputy Chairperson, Planning
- Commission; Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister (V.P. Singh); Chairman, Union Public Service Commission; Chairman, University Grants Commission.
- Ministerial portfolio: Union Minister of Finance (1991-1996); Prime Minister (2004 to present ).
- Personal assets: Rs50 million (Dh3.67 million). This includes an apartment in New Delhi worth Rs8.8 million.
