India: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Dies at 92

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DEC 27 2024

Above: Manmohan Singh arrives at the Chancellery on April 11, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Image copyright: Sean Gallup/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Imagesstory last updated DEC 28 2024

The Facts

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who led India for a decade (2004-14) and liberalized the country's economy during his earlier stint as its finance minister (1991-96), died Thursday in New Delhi at the age of 92.
Singh, the first Sikh to become India's prime minister, had been undergoing care for age-related medical conditions. His wife, Gursharan Kaur, and three daughters survive him.
Born in Gah village in what later became Pakistan, Singh migrated to India amid large-scale Hindu-Muslim violence following the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. He went on to become a world-renowned economist.

The Spin

Narrative A

Dr. Manmohan Singh transformed a nation through quiet determination and unwavering integrity. As finance minister, he liberated India's economy from bureaucratic shackles, and as prime minister, he lifted 250M out of poverty while deepening democracy through landmark legislation. A man of profound humility who knew poverty first-hand, his soft-spoken demeanor masked a steely resolve that earned him global respect. Barack Obama's words capture his essence: "wise, thoughtful, and scrupulously honest."

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Narrative B

Singh's decade as prime minister stands as a cautionary tale of brilliance without authority. A fundamentally decent man who never faced personal corruption charges, he presided over an administration plagued by scandals and bureaucratic inertia. His loyalty to his party over the nation and his reluctance to assert leadership turned him into a tragic figure — a placeholder prime minister whose government operated without direction, ultimately paving the way for Narendra Modi's decisive victory.

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