Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with the PU staff at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hall in Panjab University, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. (Express photo by Sahil Walia)
WELCOMING MANMOHAN Singh at the first Dr SB Rangnekar Memorial Oration by the Department of Economics at Panjab University on Wednesday, Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover informed that the former PM has donated 3,500 books from his personal library to the university.
Manmohan Singh was at his alma mater after 52 years as a teacher to deliver a lecture on the seventieth Anniversary of our Independence: Strengthening the Roots of our Democracy.
Professor Upinder Sawhney, Chairperson of the Department of Economics, said, “He has been invited here not as the former PM, but as an economist and a former professor of PU.”
Otherwise, she added, Singh was here at the university for the annual convocation in 2009.
The donated books will be kept at Guru Tegh Bahadur Reading Hall. Manmohan Singh visited the building to take a look at the arrangements for his books.
Dr Manmohan Singh also visited the Department of Economics and greeted teachers and students of the department, there. Students presented him him one of his quotes, which he signed. The quote reads, “I am confident about the future of India. I firmly believe that the emergence of India as a major powerhouse of the evolving global economy is an idea whose time has come. Blending tradition with modernity and unity with diversity, this nation of ours can show the way forward to the world.”
In his speech, Prof Grover also mentioned that the PU alumnus, with the help of the Confederation of Indian Industry, was planning to build a department of archive on the lines of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in Delhi.
Prof Sawhney said, “Manmohan Singh felt quite nostalgic and wanted to enter the building, but he could not do so as there were too many steps to climb. The students will frame the autographed quote and put it in the department.”
During her speech at the oration, Prof Sawhney spoke about Prof Rangnekar, who founded the Department of Economics along with KK Dewett after the Partition. Back then, the department was located in Hoshiarpur. She added that he introduced the honours school programme in the department in 1966.
Manmohan Singh said, “Prof Rangnekar introduced the modernised MA syllabus in 1952 when I was a student here. He was a great teacher and inspired me to go to Cambridge.”
Next year, PU will mark the centenary of the honours school system that has an integrated bachelors and masters programme. It lays special emphasis on research development. Last week, during an international conference, Prof Grover said the university will organise a three-day fest to celebrate the centenary of the honours school. He added that it will be a common platform for thought leaders, engaging alumni, faculty and scholars.