Last week in the Ba market, Jone, one of my Fijian friends, looking at my turban, asked me why the prime minister of India always wears turban of blue colour. I replied that he sticks to one colour because he is a man of principles and he consistently adhere to his economic and political ideologies.
"What about you? I see turbans of different colours on your head on different days," he said. I was caught. And smilingly I told him that I did it to make Fiji's multi-cultural society more colorful.. He heartily laughed in a typical Fijian style and got into his taxi.
On May 20, the king-maker, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, leader of India's largest political party, declared, after a spectacular victory in the general elections, that Dr Manmohan Singh would be the prime minister of India again for the second term. In a fit of excitement and mood of celebration, his supporters in Punjab shouted deliriously SINGH IS KING - the slogan made popular among the Sikhs all over the world by a film titled Singh is King which was shown also in Fiji's cinema houses last year.
But that was a film based on fictitious story revolving around a Sikh youth from Punjab. Dr Manmohan Singh's accession to the throne of prime ministership for the second time is a reality that has surprised the whole world. The Sikhs comprise hardly 2 per cent of India's 1.2 billion population.
Belonging to a minority community and becoming the most powerful person for the second time in the largest democracy of the world would surprise all those who believe in democratic values.
First surprise was Barack Obama when American voters gave the reign of their country to him last year without fussing about his ethnicity and racial roots.
Congratulating Dr Singh on his swearing-in for the second term, President Obama praised India " on successfully completing the largest democratic exercise the world has ever seen, calling it a testament to the strength of India's democracy".
Born on 26th September, 1932, in the village Gah, now in Pakistan, Dr Singh received his primary education in this village school. During the partition of India, he migrated to Amritsar, city of golden temple, with his family and pursued his further education in schools and colleges affiliated to the University of Punjab.
His favourite subject was economics. A brilliant student perhaps of Khalsa college, Amritsar, he stood first in his BA and MA examinations and later went to Cambridge to study economics at St John's college. and obtained his Ph D degree from Oxford. Coming back to India, he became a lecturer and taught in many prestigious institutions such as Delhi School of Economics where he went on his bicycle to take classes in the subject of economics.
The Government of India noticed his calibre and appointed him economic adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, And from here, the sky was the limit for him and he continued moving upward until he reached the last step of the ladder and became the prime minister of India in May, 2004 - the first Sikh to occupy the highest chair of the land.
An economist of international repute, he knew his targets and was aware of the goals his government wanted to achieve. In the first five-year term, his government's economic reforms accelerated growth of rural economy. Improving rural infrastructure and achieving growth rate of 9 per cent, India became the fastest growing major economy in the world. There were positive improvements in all its sectors including agriculture, healthcare and education.
In 2004, when he became the prime minister for the first time, Mr Krishan Lal Avani, leader of Bhartiya Janta Party, also known as Hindu Nationalist Party, commented that Dr Singh would be a weak prime minister but Dr Singh replied that time will tell who is weak.
In this year's (2009) elections, Dr Singh's party delivered a crushing defeat to Mr Advani's B J P, who is still licking its wounds. Their appeal to race, religion, caste and ethnicity did not help them. The voters have not yet forgotten their slogan of Hindutva and saga of Ram temple - Babri masjid.
Indian voters have become more politically-conscious and decided to vote for stability and good government. They rejected the negative policies of B J P and communist parties. Every boy and girl aged 18 was entitled to vote. The younger generations, inclined more towards secularism, did not listen to those leaders who tried to obtain votes on the basis of religion and caste.
Out of 714 million eligible voters, 60 per cent of them went out to the polling stations to cast their votes. A strong segment , comprising of young people, bubbling with energy and enthusiasm, and led by Rahul Gandhi, changed the political scenario by casting their votes in favour of the congress party, and by recognizing the capability of Dr Singh and his farsightedness. Compared with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other past prime ministers, he has one advantage. Being an economist, he proved to be far sharper on policy matters than his predecessors.
He is polite and pleasant, respectful and tolerant but the most striking qualities of his character are his honesty and simplicity. He will have problems but as he has a deep sense of optimism, hope and destiny, he will convert fresh challenges into opportunities.
After a resounding election triumph this year(2009), he has become stronger and his faith in Sikh scriptures will keep him in high spirits. He wishes to help the poor and down-trodden and wants to improve their economic condition. Perhaps he is inspired daily by the last words of Sikh prayer which he may be reciting daily and which goes like this: Nanak naam, chardhi kala, tere bhane sarbat da bhala.
O'God ! through Nanak ( Guru Nanak) may your Name be exalted. May all the human beings of the world prosper by Thy grace.
Jogindar Singh Kanwal is retired principal of Khalsa College, Ba and author of many Hindi and English books. He is the chairman of Multi-Ethnic Cultural Centre, Ba, and can be reached at [email protected]
