A Good Doctor Cures the Patient...
... but a great one makes sure that the patient doesn't come back to the clinic.
What made Manmohan Singh’s Budget speech of 1991–92 historic was that he used it to present a masterly explanation of why the wide-ranging reforms were being attempted and how the various components fitted together. He explained that we needed to go beyond crisis management towards structural reforms, including liberalization of both industrial policy and trade policy as a means of unleashing the animal spirits of India’s private sector. The opening to imports and foreign investment was necessary to subject the economy to competitive pressure.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia. BACKSTAGE: The Story behind India’s High Growth Years (p. 144). Rupa. Kindle Edition.
There are lots of excerpts from lots of academic writings that I could have added here to help celebrate Dr. Manmohan Singh's career. But I will, instead, add two further excerpts from the same book, because it exemplifies what Dr. Singh, and others of his ilk, stood for:
Later in the course of the debate, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while being mildly critical of the Budget as was expected of an opposition leader, advised Manmohan Singh, in a very avuncular style, to develop a thick skin. He said he had grown old listening to insults and abuses! (pg. 151)
Dr Singh was not naturally inclined to projecting himself as a leader. His instinct was not to prevail by force of authority but always to appreciate the other person’s point of view and look for a consensual way to move forward. (pg. 347)
"Building consensus" is a most underrated thing in politics the world over today, across intra and international issues. Dr. Singh could play that game as well as anybody, as could Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Have at it if you wish to establish whose fault it is that the art no longer exists in India's political space, but I would urge you to figure out how to go about getting it back.
History already judges him kindly, but the future will miss him and his skills desperately.
Thank you, Dr. Singh, for everything.