Manmohan Singh passes away: From India US nuclear deal to Mumbai terror attacks | Revisiting ex-PM’s foreign policy 27 Dec

India US nuclear deal in his memoir ‘A Promised Land,’ former US President Barack Obama described ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a ‘a gentle, soft-spoken economist’ with a ‘white beard and a turban,  marks of his Sikh faith that lent him the air of a holy man to the Westerners.

Manmohan Singh, who passed away on Thursday, will not just be remembered for his economic legacy – his foreign policy approach and initiatives during his stint as Prime Minister from 2004-2014 are well-known, too.

The liberalisation of India’s economy in 1991 was a turning point in the country’s post-independence history for which the then finance minister Manmohan Singh is credited. It opened India’s doors to the global economy.

Indo-US Nuclear Deal

One of the highlights of Singh’s regime was the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement 2008, which paved they way for civilian nuclear cooperation. The deal ended India’s decades-long nuclear isolation, besides shaping country’s relationship with major powers, including the US.

Before Obama’s presidency, Singh had a rapport with US President George W Bush, thanks to the nuclear deal. Also, the ties with Japan, France, Australia, Germany and other countries improved due to the nuclear deal, which positioned India as a responsible nuclear power with a strong global credibility.

2008 global financial crisis

As Prime Minister, Singh is often credited for leading the Indian economy through the 2008 global financial crisis. Not just Obama, former British Chancellor Gordon Brown, ex-Japan PM Shinzo Abe and ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel have also showered praises on him.

Singh is also known to have overseen the transition of India’s ties with the West. In 2007, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed the idea of the Quad during his visit to India. Singh’s government signed a strategic partnership agreement and a free trade pact with Japan, setting the stage for stronger defence and economic cooperation in the coming years, India Today reported.

While Singh worked for strong ties with the US, his mind was clear on China under President Xi Jinping. Singh was the Prime Minister during the India-China border standoff in April 2013. The issue was resolved in weeks.

The Mumbai Attacks

Like every Prime Minister, Singh faced challenges from Pakistan. The Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 happened during his tenure as the prime minister.

The government under PM Manmohan Singh used diplomatic pressure and secured international condemnation of Pakistan. Singh avoided escalation, but many saw it as a sign of weakness. Singh was criticised for engaging with Pakistan just months after the attack, at the 2009 Sharm El-Sheikh summit. Singh wanted to visit Gah — his birthplace in Pakistan, but that never happened.

India’s ties with Bangladesh improved under Singh’s government. Sheikh Hasina, now in exile, came to power in Dhaka in 2008. Singh’s UPA government worked closely with Hasina’s administration to tackle cross-border issues and strengthen trade ties, though issues like the Teesta water-sharing agreement remained unresolved.

Singh was also the oasis of calm when Maldives moved towards a multi-party democracy as President Mohamed Nasheed became the President ousting Abdul Mamoon Gayoom after three decades, and Nepal moved into a multi-party democracy after Maoists led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda came to power, dislodging Nepal’s royalty, according to a report in The Indian Express.

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seemed like a fitting emblem of this progress: a member of the tiny, often persecuted Sikh religious minority who’d risen to the highest office in the land, and a self-effacing technocrat who’d won people’s trust not by appealing to their passions but by bringing about higher living standards and maintaining a well-earned reputation for not being corrupt,” reads Obama’s memoir.