Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today turned nostalgic after visiting Panjab University's department of economics in Chandigarh, recalling his journey there as a student and later as a senior lecturer.
After delivering the first S B Rangnekar memorial lecture on 'The Seventieth Anniversary of our Independence - Strengthening the roots of our Democracy', Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur visited the economics department.
He interacted with students and faculty members there.
When students asked how Singh felt, Upinder Sawhney, the chairperson of the department, said: "The former PM smiled and said 'very good' and 'I am nostalgic'."
Singh did his MA in economics in 1957 from the PU.
He recalled his association with the PU and Rangnekar, who was one of the founders of the economics department.
"The department of economics in those days (after the country's partition) was located in Hoshiarpur, along with many other university departments. I joined the department of economics as an MA student in 1952. This was the first year of adoption of the new MA syllabus in whose preparation Dr S B Rangnekar played a pioneering role. He was a great teacher who inspired me to go to Cambridge after my M.A. examination.
"On return from Cambridge, I joined the department of economics as a senior lecturer. Soon thereafter the department of economics moved to Chandigarh and I had the privilege of working in the department with Dr Rangnekar as its head. Dr Rangnekar and his wife treated me and my wife as a member of their family. That was the happiest period of my life and I recall it with gratitude to Dr. Rangnekars," said Singh.
He later visited Guru Teg Bahadur Hall at the PU to see the nearly 3,500 books and memorabilia donated by him.
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