“In my childhood, I had to walk a long distance to go to school. I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am today because of education. I want every Indian...”
These words ring a line in the mind of every Indian. Even today, there are many villages in India, where there is no electricity or school. Even some children staying in urban areas don’t go to school as they don’t have the funds and they are sent to work by their parents to keep the kitchen fires burning. Today, thanks to Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government all children, irrespective of gender and social categorisation would have access to education.
It was the dream of Gopal Krishna Gokhale to confer on Indian people the right to Education. Nearly a century ago, he had urged the Imperial Assembly to confer the right on the Indians. It took 90 years to amend the Constitution and enshrine the Right to Education as a Fundamental Right. Under this all children in the age group of six to 14 years would receive education. But, Shantha Sinha, Chairperson, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, has pointed out that the Bill does not talk about children below six years and above 14 years.
Addressing the nation on the Right to Education Act that came into force from April1 this year, Dr. Singh said: “The Government was committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category had access to education and, fund constraints were not allowed to hamper implementation of the Right to Education Act.”
The premier said that to achieve the goal of Right to Education, the Central Government, State Governments and Union Territories must jointly work with full resolve and determination. Emphasising that education was key to progress, Singh said that it would help students to acquire skills, knowledge, values and attitudes necessary for becoming responsible citizens.
If the Right to Education is implemented in totality, there would be a school every kilometer. The government would have to recruit 12 lakh teachers in six months and also over the next five years conduct massive teacher training programmes to have an optimum student-teacher ratio.
If we look back, one man had single-handedly changed the fortunes of the country. He became the Finance Minister in 1991, under the Prime Ministership of P V Narasimha Rao, when the country was on the verge of bankruptcy. At that time, the nation had an unsustainable fiscal deficit of close to 8.5% the gross domestic product, nearly double of what it is today. Even in the balance of payments, there was a huge deficit with the current account close to 3.5% of GDP. There was nobody willing to lend funds to India at a time when the country had just a billion dollars in terms of foreign exchange reserves that would last about two weeks’ imports. At that time the country was on the verge of defaulting on international loan payments.
The then premier backed Singh to the core and India started its journey on the path of reforms. Singh with his magical touch brought in change. To spur exports, he devalued the rupee, loosened foreign investment rules, opened oil refining, telecommunications and stock exchanges. He also cut down taxes and opened up the bureaucracy to help companies.
While presenting the 1994-95 Budget in Parliament, Manmohan Singh quoted Victor Hugo: “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.” At one time, Dr Singh had expressed surprise that he was invited to become the Finance Minister. He kept a low profile after the Narasimha Rao government was voted out of power. He sprung back to limelight after his name was proposed as premier when United Progressive Alliance was voted to power in 2004.
Born in Gah, West Punjab, now in Pakistan, on September 26, 1932, Manmohan Singh was one among 10 siblings, who along with his parents Gurmukh Singh and Gursharan Kaur shifted to Amritsar, when he was 14-years-old. Hailing from a poor farmer family, Manmohan Singh’s father owned a shop selling dry fruits. Determined to chart his own career Manmohan Singh studied at night under streetlights as at home it was a large extended family.
Many times, Dr Singh has said that he became an economist to eradicate poverty in the country. He went to Oxford and Cambridge on scholarships and his doctoral thesis at Oxford was on India’s export competitiveness. He held many high posts after becoming a civil servant, which included Governor of Reserve Bank of India. He also taught at the Delhi School of Economics. The first time, Manmohan Singh wore a tie was when he attended his first job interview.
Irrespective of political affiliations, Manmohan is respected by one and all. In 1996, he won the ‘Honest Man of the Year’ award for his clean image. After taking over as the premier, Manmohan Singh has heralded economic reforms, liberalisation and corporate-friendly policies.
Doctoral Studies In Honour of Economic Doctor