How history is going to judge Dr. Manmohan  Singh as Prime minister of the largest democracy in the world? The results of the  general elections of 2004, threw up interesting possibilities and in an anticlimactic sequence of events the mantle of prime ministership fell upon a person who has the  signal distinction of being  the best educated prime minister of the world. His gentle personality and unblemished record of public with impeccable incorruptible  image all contributing to soaring expectations of his countrymen. Everyone thought that India got a prime minister who combined his towering erudition with his unique pragmatism gained over a few decades as an eminent economist and top-notch bureaucrat. 

Taking a hasty look at his academics one would simply drop dead! He never stood second in any examination! His  chequered record consists of coming top in his B.A(Hons) and M.A in economics, winning Wright's Prize for his distinguished performance at  St. John's College, Cambridge, doing Dphil ( Oxford ). His career path displays his inclinations both for teaching as well as bureaucratic assignments. He straddled the world of academics as a professor, a reader of leading universities of India with same ease as he did as a bureaucrat! What a discerning analysis should not miss is the fact that apart from his teaching tenures which were punctuated by governmental tenures of different designations as Economic Advisor, Chief Economic Advisor and Governor of Reserve Bank of India enabling him to have a ring side view of the the working of governments ran by different political parties - predominantly by Congress. And his plumping for Congress Party finally to kick-start his political career is not without significance!!      

 Dr. Singh held  various important positions at international levels too which might have shaped own outlook and philosophy on our economic development. And  that came into full play when he was Finance Minister in the government led by Late P.V. Narasimha Rao. It is important to remember the events of the early nineties which witnessed one of the worst economic crises the country ever faced. In fact things came to a head when we were to pledge our gold to meet our international commitments during the brief tenure of  Chandrasekhar-led government. Perhaps this particular phase of Dr. Manmohan Singh's career marked him out as one of the outstanding economist who threw his entire intellectual might to unshackle the Indian economy form the moribund brand of socialism which retarded  our progress and kept us in perpetual poverty! The suffocating control raj which effectively stifled enterprise and initiatives and only bred corruption of a stinking kind was thrown off in no time. India's economy had a whiff of fresh  air that encouraged entry of foreign capital and heralding of new visions and ideas. Till then India almost perpetuated the notorious concept of ' Hindu Rate of Growth'
of around 3 to 4% annually. The present scenario of Indian companies looking beyond the shores of India and taking over foreign companies was unimaginable in those days. And Dr. Singh's role would be accorded due importance in the economic history of the country. There is a feeling that his performance as Finance Minister has been more credible and remarkable than that of him as Prime Minister!           

It is doubtless one of the supreme ironies of history that a person as erudite and as gifted as Dr. Manmohan Singh is very fast losing his appeal among the masses of this country. He is a poor victim of his own ambition, indecision and lack of charishma. A person who was hailed as a reformer of Indian economy is being lampooned as the 'lame duck' prime minister of India!   When he was pitchforked into the post of prime minister the entire length and breadth of India nodded in approval but his two terms in office is exposing him to more searching and searing  questions about his suitability. In 2004 when the Congress President Sonia dramatically renounced the post of prime minister in favour of Dr. Manmohan Singh her satraps studiously tried to project her act as a supreme  sacrifice overlooking the smart and wily game she played. On her part she ensured that remote could be as successful as a direct one! And Dr. Singh never seems to forget his gratitude that he could never have been the prime minister of this country but for her. A person who could free the economy from its endless  controls could not free himself from the clutches of the Gandhi family!  His submissive stand has proved very costly for the country which could be seen in the functioning of his government as his cabinet colleagues in whose appointments he had very little say, spoke in different wave-lengths much to his embarrassment! Chidambaram declaring on governmental authority that division of Andhra Pradesh would be a reality only to equivocate later! The way his erstwhile colleague Raja duped him! 

The most embarrassing and thoroughly undesirable is the way Dr. Singh has fighting shy of directly fighting elections as he is acutely aware of his poor public interface. It is somewhat unedifying that the high priest of our democratic  polity which is the biggest democracy in the world, should be a Rajjya Sabha, not an elected member of Lok Sabha ! And this fact hardly troubles his conscience!  In fact his reluctance to face the masses has given rise to a strong impression that he loves to anchored in his prime minister chair than come out openly to interact with commoners. The Congress Party too has worked out an arrangement to leave him like that as Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are two public interfaces. Dr. Singh loves more visiting foreign capitals than remote corners of the country. His capitulation to Gandhi family has to be seen in this context - terribly hamstrung by lack of image of a mass leader.

Another area in which Dr. Manmohan Singh let the people of India terribly down was his handling of issue of corruption and corrupt people. The principal reason why the people of India rejoiced over his selection as Prime Minister has been his image as a clean politician with an impeccable record of probity in public life but it is painfully ironical that Independent India witnessed the highest number of scams and scandals under him. What must have shocked his admirers has been his attempts to sweep them under the carpet!  The kind of legal actions that have been taken against corrupt functionaries are mainly inspired and initiated by the vigilant judiciary not by his government. His dithering on the issue has brought an extra-parliament personality like Anna Hazare into prominence - not a very happy state of affairs for the nation!

Dr. Singh's love affair with the USA and Western countries is well-known. A good word from the leaders of these pleases him enormously. His frequent trips to these countries and grandstanding with their leaders are too familiar sights. Who can forget his famous lines to the former President of America- George Bush that ' people of India love you' when the entire world was witnessing his war-mongering murderous invasions!!