Prime Minister Manmohan Singh turns 80 today

26 September, 2012

Today, the 13th and current Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh (Born: 26 September 1932) turns 80. He had always been a man of few words and a reluctant birthday boy. It is going to be a usual day for him.

IT IS leant that some political leaders are expected to call on the prime minister to greet him on his birthday as usual, but no formal celebrations are on the cards. Today, Singh will give away the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awards at its Foundation Day function.

It is no mean achievement that Singh is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. He started his political carrer as a clean and honest politician and was described as "a man of uncommon decency and grace" by the Independent, a British daily, few years ago. In 2010, Newsweek magazine had describing him as "the leader other leaders love."

However, the Time magazine (10-17 July, 2012) on its cover remarked that Singh was an "underachiever" who was unwilling to carry out the economic reforms required to put India back on growth path. At another place, the Independent claimed that Singh did not have ‘genuine political power’.

The opposition leader, L.K Advani once had said of Singh, "He is weak. What do I call a person who can't take his decisions until 10 Janpath gives instruction." Of late, Singh took some firm economic reform decisions like allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and a cap on the number of cooking gas cylinders.