A minuscule man & a giant persona: Dr. Manmohan Singh, PhD, as I knew him

Prof. Narendra N Ganguly MS, PhD

I was married in the summer of 1988. My paternal side, as per family stories, came to assist Maharaja Prithu in the war against Bakhtiar Khilji in 1199 AD from Kannauj. The family predates the entry of Chaolung Chukafa by 26 years. Eventually my family settles down in Rahr Bengal and becomes Ganguly when the King of Bengal offered the Kaulinya to my ancestors. My great-grandfather was the Nayeb of Bijni, and from there my grandfather, the initiator of cricket and applied geography in Assam, came to teach in the Tezpur Academy, the important Assamese medium school in Tezpur. He was one of the founder teachers of the Tezpur Academy. Later, he was awarded by the then Education Minister, Late Hiteswar Saikia, in a public function. My mother’s side was sent into exile to Assam under the Gohpur Police Station in 1932. Both my grandfather and grandmother were freedom fighters and were caught in action. I was married to Morowa’s Baishya family. My father-in-law’s family settled down in Tezpur in the erstwhile Darrang District, now in Shonitpur.

The year I was married, I came to know a few beautiful people who were like family to my wife. The Borthakur family. Their girl child Geeta was akin to a sister to my wife. Dr. Mrs. Inderjeet Kaur Borthakur was a close friend of Dr. Manmohan Singh, and I was introduced to him. He took a liking to me, and we became close. Subsequent years made us closer, and we kept in touch. At times, through Borthakur aunty.

He came as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, went on to become the Chairman of the Planning Commission, the Finance Minister, and subsequently the Prime Minister of our great country, India. I remember the soft-spoken man, small in size, but his aura was so big, it could shadow Mount Everest. I remember all those times and trips in various parts of Assam with him, in his car, led by siren-blaring escort vehicles. Time spent in discussion in the circuit house or in my mother-in-law’s home. Such a gentle giant of a persona. All memories flooding down the memory lane and choking me with emotions. I want to tell the people of Assam what we lost today. We lost a great friend of this land and its people. So much to tell you all! He was not only upset about the poor development status of Assam but also about the people. He once told us that we need to increase the calcium level in the soil. It will improve the physical condition of the people living here, and then the cultivation of potatoes from seeds. He gave me one small pouch, and I gave it to a farmer for trying. He gave the report of production as brilliant.

Once, the late Honourable CM of Chhattisgarh, Ajit Jogi ji, told me that Dr. Manmohan Singh would always keep Assam in the forefront of grants and would always provide the highest share to Assam.

Yes, a great friend of Assam and its people has passed away.

I should of course tell all about his coming to Assam. I was asked by his PA to find out if he can be given a tenancy in Guwahati. The time was not right. The agitation and the turmoil thereafter were burning Assam. Any Congressi, as the followers of the Congress philosophy were described, was not welcome in Assam. However, I took the issue to a few of my friends in the student leaders’ domain. I explained to them the importance of having the world-renowned economist as our citizen. It will be beneficial for the state in the end. I understand that there was debate, and I was told that he could be accommodated as a tenant. My mother-in-law had a spare part in her home. She was alone and needed the extra income. Therefore, it was decided that the space would be rented out to him. When all parties accepted, Dr. Manmohan Singh sent 12 checks as advance payment for the whole year. What a person. Whenever he would visit Assam, he would make it a point to visit his rented premises, meet my mother-in-law, and call my wife and me for lunch, dinner, or whatever with him. He was not a talker, a listener. An avid listener. With a sweet smile. I remember when my mother-in-law was terminally ill and was at the end of her life, Dr. Manmohan Singh came to meet her on her deathbed. We were staying in a premise behind my in-law’s home, but the entry was from a different bye lane. We communicated through the broken wall behind my mother-in-law’s house. Dr. Singh came through that broken patch climbing the wall athletically and sat with my wife to console her. Although he had by then shifted to the house of another good senior and mentor of mine, late Hiteswar Saikia, the great political leader and the then Chief Minister of Assam. Yes, we were close.

Oh! So many sweet memories. I remember wishing him the best of luck and congratulating him with a letter that had been written from the desk he kept in his rented part. By then he was not our tenant as he shifted to Sarumotoria. The reply came, in his own handwriting, thanking me for the wishes.

He is no more. A soft, tough man, a giant in a small-sized human being, a decent person in the midst of shape-shifters, but primarily a lover of Assam and its people.

Adieu, Uncle. I shall miss you.

May God keep your soul in eternal peace!