’54-year-old pic worth 1,000 words’: DSE photo shows Manmohan Singh’s humility | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: During a group photo shoot at the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) in 1969, Manmohan Singh who was professor at the prestigious college quietly walked in and stood among the students while other professors were seated on chairs
“The photo at Delhi School of Economics demonstrates Dr Singh’s humility,” one of his old students, Amit Mitra, former FM of West Bengal, wrote on X.
Mitra shared the photograph which was sent to him by former CAG Vinod Rai, also a DSE alum.
It shows Rai standing next to Manmohan Singh. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is also seen in the iconic photograph. Mitra said he was there as the outgoing President of Fraternity.
“Ironically, standing next to Dr Singh on his left is Vinod Rai. Over 40 years later, Vinod’s report as CAG of India created a storm against Dr Singh and his govt, (2G and coal ‘scam’), contributing to its downfall and the ascendancy of Shri Narendra Modi,” Mitra said in his post.
“A 54-year old picture (that Vinod had kindly sent me some years ago) is worth a 1,000 words….We, as students of Dr Manmohan Singh, will deeply miss his warmth…. May Dr Singh’s noble soul rest in peace,” Mitra said.
Singh was a professor of international trade at DSE from 1969 to 1971 and his former students remember his lectures and his simplicity, travelling to the college in DTC buses. Rai, who has a masters degree from DSE, went on to become the Comtroller and Auditor General of India and the two reports on 2G spectrum allocation and coal scams triggered a massive controversy, leading to the ouster of the UPA coalition govt headed by Singh.
Mitra, who is now the principal chief adviser to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, recalled Manmohan Singh’s classes that he attended.
“In the classroom, Dr Manmohan Singh taught us Trade Finance with unflashy rigor. Outside of class, at D-School’s coffee house, we imbibed from him the art of equanimity with the genuine affection of a true teacher,” Mitra told TOI.