The most courteous and humble gentleman-scholar PM: Narayana Murthy on Dr Manmohan Singh

I had known Manmohan Singh personally for quite some time even before he became the Finance Minister. He was a genuine friend and someone I admired much. One phrase that describes him aptly is “the most courteous, cultured and humble gentleman-scholar”.

He was a picture of humility and a fountain of knowledge. He was extraordinarily accessible and decent. Sudha and I often visited his home with our children and family members. He was also, perhaps, the politician with the least ego I have ever met. Despite his seniority and rank, he remained equanimous and empathetic even when someone declined his requests.

When he was the Prime Minister, he wanted me to be the chairman of the Foreign Investment Commission that he wanted to set up to accelerate foreign direct investment. I respectfully declined it due to various reasons. He then requested my late friend, Ratan Tata, who accepted the position. I found that it was easy to disagree with Singh and yet remain friendly with him. His philosophy could be summed up by the much-practised Infosys tenet, “You can disagree with me as long as you are not disagreeable”. He and I disagreed sometimes even when he was the PM. Yet, he was very kind and comfortable in us being able to express our differences of opinions honestly while still preserving our friendship.
 

The reforms of 1991-spearheaded by him, enabled by Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, and supported by P. Chidambaram and Montek Singh Ahluwalia-laid the foundation for the global success of the Indian IT industry and Infosys. These reforms catalysed the rise of India’s burgeoning middle class and set the stage for India’s entry on the global map. Singh genuinely appreciated entrepreneurship, job creation, and a value-driven approach to work. He always took the opportunity to encourage entrepreneurship in the country. Sudha and I often reminded him that ordinary people like us, who came from middle class backgrounds, could ultimately do something reasonable with our lives because of the seminal contribution he made to India’s economy. We told him that his reforms gave entrepreneurs like me a chance to dream beyond the limited circumstances I came from.

He was very kind to inaugurate first phase of our Global Education Center in Mysuru. On that occasion, he gave a scholarly lecture on the importance of research and education for the Indian corporate sector.

In 2009, the social science jury of Infosys Science Foundation awarded Professor Upinder Singh, Manmohan Singh’s daughter, the Infosys Prize in social sciences. Prof. Singh is a world-renowned scholar in Indian history, in her own right. I invited Singh to be the chief guest for the award ceremony that year. Always, a stickler for propriety, he was uncomfortable to preside over the function where his daughter was being awarded the prize. Instead, he suggested the name of Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the much-respected scholar Vice President of India then, to be the chief guest. Singh, his wife, Gursharan Kaur, and others from his family attended the function as proud parents. His presence was low-key, and he ensured that the limelight was not taken away from the Vice President and from his daughter’s moment of glory.

Of course, in 2010, as promised to me, he was the chief guest for the Infosys Prize function at Mumbai. He was ably supported in my interactions with him by one of the finest IAS officers this country has produced, B.V.R. Subramanyam. He was in the Prime Minister’s Office then and is currently the CEO of NITI Aayog.

Singh was very pleased with the Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture that I delivered in August 2002 in New Delhi. He was very clear about the need for our country to maintain fairness, justice, harmony and to raise the confidence and hope of every section of our society. Thereafter, he requested me to send him several of my lectures on various national issues. He read them and was very appreciative of my views on many important national issues. In fact, he requested me to publish some of my important lectures as a book. A Better India: A Better World, a compilation of my lectures, was published in 2009. He was very kind to release the book at a function held at his (PM’s) residence with about 200 guests.

Singh respected and admired ethical job creators. He invited me to several dinners hosted in honour of visiting Prime Ministers and Presidents, including President Obama. At every such event, he arranged for me to speak with the visiting dignitary. When introducing me, he was always particular in highlighting the values with which my colleagues and I had built Infosys.

When the Satyam scandal broke, he called me and requested me to be the chairman of the board of the beleaguered company and set its governance right. I explained that my involvement would be inappropriate since Satyam had been a competitor of Infosys. I suggested selecting a much-respected corporate leader from another industry. He agreed with my suggestion and chose Deepak Parekh to be the chairman.

Singh had chaired the selection of Rhodes Scholars from India before his tenure as PM, a role he recommended that I accept when it was offered to me. After the 2009 elections, he sought my suggestions for a critical function like education for his second term. I recommended Nandan Nilekani, then the Co-chairman of Infosys, as a potential HRD minister. While political considerations led to a different decision, Singh inducted Nandan into his cabinet to lead the Aadhaar programme, demonstrating his openness to fresh ideas.

Singh made it a point of either replying to any letter I wrote to him or to call me and provide his opinion. Barring PM Narendra Modi and A.B. Vajpayee, I have rarely seen any senior Indian politician practice this courtesy. It is fair to say that Singh was a PM with a high level of patriotism, culture, scholarship, humility, kindness, tolerance, and decency.

In every role he held, be it Finance Minister or Prime Minister, Singh remained open-minded and constantly sought new ideas for India’s betterment. Neither his ego nor his position came in the way of constantly seeking to do something better for the country.

His humility and focus on doing what was right for the nation never wavered. His legacy will endure as one of service, scholarship, integrity and decency.

May his soul rest in peace.

Views are personal. The author is N.R. Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys