In Amritsar, a house Manmohan Singh visited before becoming PM | Chandigarh News
In Amritsar’s Katra Dal Singh locality, a small, dilapidated, single-storey house lies in disrepair, showing no signs of once having served as the home of a former Indian Prime Minister. The run-down brick structure was where Manmohan Singh, who passed away in Delhi on Thursday, and his family stayed after migrating from Pakistan.
“He visited his house before becoming Prime Minister in 2004. Most of the families known to him have already moved…their homes are closed and are in shambles,” Prem Singh Bhatia told The Indian Express. Bhatia’s mother Surjit Kaur was a close friend of Manmohan Singh’s mother Amrit Kaur.
“Their house is close to our house. My mother died one and a half years ago. I had accompanied my mother to Delhi on many occasions to meet Dr Manmohan Singh when he was PM and before that also. They would talk about his mother,” Bhatia recalled.
Today, the lane leading to the house is closed, cutting off access to it.
“Dr Manmohan Singh was a great personality. He would help you if your demand is genuine. He would never help you if your demand was not genuine… does not matter how close you are to him,” Bhatia said.
Singh recalled time at Hindu College
Manmohan Singh completed his schooling and graduated in economics from Hindu College, a bond he spoke about during an alumni meet. “In September 1948, I enrolled in the college and secured the first position. The then principal of the college, Sant Ram, honoured me with the Roll Call of Honor. I was the first student of Hindu College to receive this award,” Singh had reminisced.
Saying that his teachers advised him to take up Economics, Singh had said, “After my teachers advised me, I pursued BA Honors in Economics. In 1952, I once again became the topper. Principal Sant Ram, Professor Mastram, Professor S R Kalia, Dr Jugal Kishore Trikha, and his classmate Dr Sudarshan Kapoor are my heroes.”
Singh studied at Hindu College from 1948 to 1952 and his subjects during graduation were Economics, Political Science, and Punjabi. According to the college records, his roll number was 19 and the college had waived half of his tuition fees.
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