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| Critics round on India's 'complacent' prime minister | Critics round on India's 'complacent' prime minister |
| (7 months later) | |
| India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, helped set his country on the path to modernity, prosperity and power, but critics say he is in danger of going down in history as a failure. | India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, helped set his country on the path to modernity, prosperity and power, but critics say he is in danger of going down in history as a failure. |
| The architect of economic reforms, Singh, 79, was a major force behind India's rapprochement with the US. But the image of the scrupulously honourable, humble and intellectual technocrat has slowly given way to a completely different one: of a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government. | The architect of economic reforms, Singh, 79, was a major force behind India's rapprochement with the US. But the image of the scrupulously honourable, humble and intellectual technocrat has slowly given way to a completely different one: of a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government. |
| Every day for the past two weeks, the parliament has been adjourned as the opposition bays for Singh's resignation over allegations of waste and corruption in the allocation of coalmining concessions. | Every day for the past two weeks, the parliament has been adjourned as the opposition bays for Singh's resignation over allegations of waste and corruption in the allocation of coalmining concessions. |
| The story of Singh's dramatic fall from grace in his second term in office and the slow but steady tarnishing of his reputation has played out in parallel with his country's decline on his watch. As India's economy has slowed and as its reputation for rampant corruption has reasserted itself, the idea that the country was on an inexorable road to becoming a global power has increasingly come into question. | The story of Singh's dramatic fall from grace in his second term in office and the slow but steady tarnishing of his reputation has played out in parallel with his country's decline on his watch. As India's economy has slowed and as its reputation for rampant corruption has reasserted itself, the idea that the country was on an inexorable road to becoming a global power has increasingly come into question. |
| "More and more, he has become a tragic figure in our history," said political historian Ramachandra Guha, describing a man fatally handicapped by his "timidity, complacency and intellectual dishonesty". | "More and more, he has become a tragic figure in our history," said political historian Ramachandra Guha, describing a man fatally handicapped by his "timidity, complacency and intellectual dishonesty". |
| Singh's greatest selling points – his incorruptibility and economic experience – are the mirror image of his government's greatest failings. Under Singh, economic reforms have stalled, growth has slowed sharply and the rupee has collapsed. But just as damaging to his reputation is the accusation that he looked the other way as cabinet colleagues filled their pockets. In the process, he has transformed himself from an object of respect to one of ridicule. | Singh's greatest selling points – his incorruptibility and economic experience – are the mirror image of his government's greatest failings. Under Singh, economic reforms have stalled, growth has slowed sharply and the rupee has collapsed. But just as damaging to his reputation is the accusation that he looked the other way as cabinet colleagues filled their pockets. In the process, he has transformed himself from an object of respect to one of ridicule. |
| Singh did finally last week rebut criticism from the government auditor that the national treasury had been cheated of billions of dollars after coalmining concessions were granted to private companies for a pittance — including during a five-year period when Singh doubled as coal minister. | Singh did finally last week rebut criticism from the government auditor that the national treasury had been cheated of billions of dollars after coalmining concessions were granted to private companies for a pittance — including during a five-year period when Singh doubled as coal minister. |
| Singh denied there was "any impropriety", but was drowned out by catcalls when he attempted to address parliament. His brief statement to the media afterwards appeared to do little to change the impression of a man whose aloofness from the rough and tumble of Indian politics has been transformed from an asset into a liability. | Singh denied there was "any impropriety", but was drowned out by catcalls when he attempted to address parliament. His brief statement to the media afterwards appeared to do little to change the impression of a man whose aloofness from the rough and tumble of Indian politics has been transformed from an asset into a liability. |
| He will probably survive calls for his resignation, but the scandal represents a new low in a reputation that has been sinking for more than a year. | He will probably survive calls for his resignation, but the scandal represents a new low in a reputation that has been sinking for more than a year. |
| Singh was born in 1932 into a small-time trader's family in a village in what is now Pakistan. The family moved to India shortly before partition in 1947. A series of scholarships allowed Singh to study at Cambridge and then at Oxford, where he completed a PhD. A successful career in the bureaucracy followed, but in 1991 he was thrust into the spotlight as finance minister amid a financial crisis. He introduced a series of reforms that freed the Indian economy from state control and unleashed the dynamism of its private sector. | Singh was born in 1932 into a small-time trader's family in a village in what is now Pakistan. The family moved to India shortly before partition in 1947. A series of scholarships allowed Singh to study at Cambridge and then at Oxford, where he completed a PhD. A successful career in the bureaucracy followed, but in 1991 he was thrust into the spotlight as finance minister amid a financial crisis. He introduced a series of reforms that freed the Indian economy from state control and unleashed the dynamism of its private sector. |
| More than a decade later, in 2004, Singh again found himself on centre stage, becoming in his own words an "accidental prime minister". The Congress party led by Italian-born Sonia Gandhi had surprised many people by winning national elections that year, but she sprang an even bigger surprise by renouncing the top job and handing it to Singh. | More than a decade later, in 2004, Singh again found himself on centre stage, becoming in his own words an "accidental prime minister". The Congress party led by Italian-born Sonia Gandhi had surprised many people by winning national elections that year, but she sprang an even bigger surprise by renouncing the top job and handing it to Singh. |
| In him she saw not only the perfect figurehead for her government, but also a man of unquestioning loyalty, party insiders say, someone she could both trust and control. From the start, it was clear that Sonia Gandhi held the real reins of power. The Gandhi family has ruled India for most of its post-independence history and enjoys an almost cult-like status within the Congress party. | In him she saw not only the perfect figurehead for her government, but also a man of unquestioning loyalty, party insiders say, someone she could both trust and control. From the start, it was clear that Sonia Gandhi held the real reins of power. The Gandhi family has ruled India for most of its post-independence history and enjoys an almost cult-like status within the Congress party. |
| But Singh made his mark during his first term in office, standing up to opposition from his coalition partners and from within his own party to push through a civil nuclear co-operation deal with the US in 2008, a landmark agreement that ended India's nuclear isolation after its weapons tests in 1974 and 1998. It was a moment that almost brought his government down, an issue over which he offered to resign. While no electricity has yet flowed from that agreement, it marked a major step forward in India's relations with the US. | But Singh made his mark during his first term in office, standing up to opposition from his coalition partners and from within his own party to push through a civil nuclear co-operation deal with the US in 2008, a landmark agreement that ended India's nuclear isolation after its weapons tests in 1974 and 1998. It was a moment that almost brought his government down, an issue over which he offered to resign. While no electricity has yet flowed from that agreement, it marked a major step forward in India's relations with the US. |
| The Congress-led coalition went on to win a second term in 2009, in what many people saw as a mandate for Singh himself. But his failure to contest a parliamentary seat in 2009, making him the only Indian prime minister not to have done so, further undermined both his confidence, his friends and colleagues say, and his standing in the eyes of the party. | The Congress-led coalition went on to win a second term in 2009, in what many people saw as a mandate for Singh himself. But his failure to contest a parliamentary seat in 2009, making him the only Indian prime minister not to have done so, further undermined both his confidence, his friends and colleagues say, and his standing in the eyes of the party. |
| Congress, insiders say, never accepted that the 2009 election was a mandate for Singh, and Rahul, Sonia's son, was being groomed to take over from him. He soon was openly criticised by his own party over attempts to continue a peace process with Pakistan despite the 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistani militants. | Congress, insiders say, never accepted that the 2009 election was a mandate for Singh, and Rahul, Sonia's son, was being groomed to take over from him. He soon was openly criticised by his own party over attempts to continue a peace process with Pakistan despite the 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistani militants. |
| Singh became even more quiet at his own cabinet meetings, to the point of not speaking up for the sort of economic reforms many thought he ought to be championing. | Singh became even more quiet at his own cabinet meetings, to the point of not speaking up for the sort of economic reforms many thought he ought to be championing. |
| Singh will go down in history as India's first Sikh prime minister, but also as someone who did not know when to retire, Guha said: "He is obviously tired, listless, without energy." | Singh will go down in history as India's first Sikh prime minister, but also as someone who did not know when to retire, Guha said: "He is obviously tired, listless, without energy." |
| This article originally appeared in the Washington Post, which is a contributor newspaper to the Guardian Weekly. | This article originally appeared in the Washington Post, which is a contributor newspaper to the Guardian Weekly. |
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