Rest in peace, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Manmohan Singh: A Tribute to a Great Leader and Scholar
One of India’s longest-serving Prime Ministers and the first Sikh to hold this esteemed position, Dr. Manmohan Singh, passed away on December 26, 2024, at the age of 92. The former Prime Minister was admitted to AIIMS hospital in Delhi on Thursday evening.
An official statement from the hospital read:
“With profound grief, we inform the demise of the former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, aged 92. He was being treated for age-related medical conditions and suffered a sudden loss of consciousness at home on 26 December 2024. Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency at AIIMS, New Delhi at 8:06 PM. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 PM.”
Dr. Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and their three daughters: Upinder Singh, Daman Singh, and Amrit Singh, along with their families.
Manmohan Singh: The Journey of a Lifetime
Born on September 26, 1932, in Gah, West Punjab (present-day Pakistan), Dr. Manmohan Singh was the son of Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur. During the Partition in 1947, his family migrated to India, first settling in Haldwani and later moving to Amritsar in Punjab.
Dr. Singh’s academic journey was illustrious. He studied Economics at Panjab University, pursued further studies at the University of Cambridge, and later earned a doctorate in Economics from the University of Oxford. His career began at the United Nations (1966–1969), after which Shri Lalit Narayan Mishra hired him as an advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, marking the beginning of a remarkable bureaucratic career.
In 1958, Dr. Singh married Gursharan Kaur, his lifelong partner and a learned history professor and author.
A Family of Achievers
Dr. Manmohan Singh and Gursharan Kaur have three accomplished daughters:
- Upinder Singh: A history professor and Dean at Ashoka University, she is a celebrated author of six books, including Ancient Delhi and A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. She has won several awards, including the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences in 2009.
- Daman Singh: An alumna of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IRMA in Gujarat, she is an author of books such as The Last Frontier: People, Forests in Mizoram, and a biography of her parents titled Strictly Personal. She is married to Ashok Pattnaik, an IPS officer who served as the CEO of NATGRID in 2016.
- Amrit Singh: A human rights lawyer and Professor at Stanford Law School, she is also the founding Executive Director of the Rule of Law Impact Lab, working towards justice and equality.
A Legacy of Integrity and Wisdom
Dr. Manmohan Singh was often described as “a man of uncommon decency and grace.” His tenure as Prime Minister and contributions as an economist and scholar earned him global respect. Khushwant Singh once called him “the best Prime Minister India has had”.
From his humble beginnings to becoming the 13th Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s legacy is one of honesty, dedication, and unwavering commitment to the nation. His works will forever inspire generations to come.
