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Mr. Manmohan Singh the 13th prime minister of India (2004 to 2014)

Kawshik
Jul 21, 2017
4 min read

Manmohan singh (born 26 September 1932) the first prime minister of India who came from minority community.Is an Indian economist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 The first Sikh in office, Manmohan Singh was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.He served 10 years, 4 days as a Prime minister.

He is also an eminent economist,he is also the first non-Hindu Prime Minister of India.Manmohan Singh held prominent positions in different organisations. His career started with the United Nations in 1966. His bureaucratic career saw him holding key posts such as an advisor to the Foreign Trade Ministry, Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, Governor of Reserve Bank of India and Head of Planning Commission. His political career began in 1991 when India was going through a serious economic crisis. The then Prime Minister of India, P.V. Narasimha Rao, commissioned him as the Finance Minister. He was also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2004 when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Manmohan Singh was born on 26 September, 1932 to a Sikh family of Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur in a place called Gah in Punjab of undivided India. He was raised by his paternal grandmother after his mother’s demise when he was quite young. Later, during the Partition, his family migrated to Amritsar in India. He was a brilliant student all along his academic career. He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Punjab University in 1952 and 1954 respectively. In 1957, he earned a degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge and later in 1962, he completed his D.Phil. in Economics from Nuffield College under Oxford University. Manmohan Singh’s favourite pastimes include reading and writing.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

He was married in 1958,Has three daughters named below,his family consists of three brothers and four sisters(NAMES OF HIS FAMILY MEMBERS ARE MENTIONED BELOW)

Father-Gurumukh Singh

Mother-Amrit kaur

Brothers- Daljit Singh Kohli, Surinder Singh Kohli,Surjeet Singh Kohli

Sisters-Nirman kaur,Gobind kaur,Pritam Kaur,Gyan Kaur,Narinder Kaur

Spouse Name-Gursharan Kaur (Married in 1958)

Daughter- Upinder Singh, Amrit Singh and Daman Singh

Upinder Singh is a history professor at the University of Delhi. Books written by her include 'A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India' and 'Ancient Delhi'. Amrit Singh works at the American Civil Liberties Union as a staff attorney. Daman Singh is a graduate from the Institute of Rural Management in Anand, Gujarat and from Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College. She is married to I.P.S. officer Ashok Patnaik. Books written by Daman Singh include 'Nine by Nine', a novel, and 'The Last Frontier: People and Forests in Mizoram'.

MANMOHAN SINGH PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND BEFORE POLITICS

After getting his degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge, Manmohan Singh returned to India and served as a teacher in the Punjab University. He was a senior Lecturer in Economics and went on to become Professor in 1963. In 1966, he was an Honorary Professor at Delhi School of Economics under the Delhi University.
Manmohan Singh worked with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development from 1966 to 1969. He served in the International Trade as a Professor from 1969 to 1971. He was appointed by Shri Lalit Narayan Mishra as advisor of Ministry of Foreign Trade.
He was a Professor of International Trade in 1969 at the Delhi School of Economics. In 1972, he became the Chief Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance. He was the Secretary in the Ministry of Finance in 1976.

POLITICAL JOURNEY

In 1991, he became the Finance Minister of India in P.V. Narasimha Rao's government. Singh remained in the post from 21 June, 1991 to 15 May, 1996.
Manmohan Singh was the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from 1998 to 2004.
From 22 May 2004 to 26 May 2014, he was the Prime Minister of India and Leader of the Rajya Sabha.
He was elected as Rajya Sabha member again in June 2007 and June 2013.
He didn't contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

BOOKS WRITTEN BY MANMOHAN SINGH-

India's Export Trends
Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth
He has also written articles that were published in various economics journals.

Honorary Degrees:

D.Sc. from Hissar Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University
From Patiala Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology
Doctor of Social Sciences from University of Roorkee
H.H. Kanchi Sri Parmacharya Award for Excellence
Doctor of Laws from University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada
University Medal by Punjab University, Chandigarh in the year 1952 for achieving first position in B.A.(Hons.) in Economics
Uttar Chand Kapur Medal in 1954 by Punjab University, Chandigarh, for achieving first position in M.A. in Economics.
Wright's Prize for distinguished performance in 1955 and also in 1957 at St. John's College of Cambridge.
Adam Smith Prize in 1956 by the University of Cambridge.
Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in the year 1987.
Euromoney Award in 1993 as Finance Minister of the Year.
Asiamoney Award in 1993 and in 1994 as Finance Minister of the Year for Asia.
By the Indian Science Congress Association in 1994-1995 the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award.
Justice K.S. Hegde Foundation Award in the year 1996.
In 1997 by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc. (NIKKEI), Japan's leading business daily, the Nikkei Asia Prize for Regional Growth.
The Lokmanya Tilak Award in 1997 by the Tilak Smarak Trust of Pune.
In 2005 the Honorary Fellowship of AIIMS.
In 2005 the Honorary Degree by the Oxford University.
By Moscow State University in 2005 the "Professor Honoris Causa".
Annasaheb Chirmule Award in the year 2000.
By the University of Cambridge, UK, the Honorary Doctorate in 2006.
In 2010 as the Doctor of Laws by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada