Few people know or care about Lincoln's failings. Similarly, Manmohan Singh will be remembered as the FM who launched reforms, and as a PM under whom the economy grew at 8.5% for most of a decade. This article, published in May 2014, looks at the legacy Singh left behind the year his tenure as PM ended
Why will he not be remembered as the man under whom economic growth halved from 9% to 4.5%, inflation averaged almost 10% for five years, and unending scams culminated in the worst-ever electoral defeat for the Congress party? For the same reason that Abraham Lincoln is not remembered for scandalous dirty tricks and bribes to get his way (displayed memorably in the film ‘Lincoln’). Nor is Lincoln remembered as the hypocrite who won the election as a moderate on slavery, arguing that states had a Constitutional right to slavery if they so wished, but then declared in 1863 that he had the power to abolish slavery by decree.