New Delhi   

A pilgrimage for Manmohan

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A nostalgic trip laced with fond memories of his teaching days, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh compared his visit to Delhi School of Economics (DSE) on Wednesday to undertaking a pilgrimage.

Speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the premier Institute, Dr. Singh said he always wondered if he did the right thing by moving from teaching to politics. "Teaching is my first love. I had always wanted to be a teacher. I merely drifted into government, pulled by a sense of duty to the country,"

Invited to join the DSE faculty, the Prime Minister recalled his excitement on being asked to be part of the prestigious school. Working with the United Nations at that time, Dr. Singh revealed that his decision to leave a plum job with the UN for a place in DSE had left many surprised.

A decade when the country was faced with one crisis after another, Dr.Singh recalled that the country was reeling under two wars, a food crisis, social unrest and a troubled transition from the Nehru era to that of Indira Gandhi during the 1960s when the offer came to him.

"I was called in by the secretary general of UNCTAD who tried to persuade me to reconsider my decision. I then told him that I sincerely believed that something exciting was happening in India and I wanted to be part of it... I was convinced that if there was one place in the world to be working, it was India. I was convinced that if there was one institution to be at, it was the DSE."

Dr. Singh said it was the urge to make a difference that prompted him to take up the challenge of moving to being part of the government. Describing the school as the sanctum sanctorum of Indian economics, he said: "One may wonder what is it that made DSE so special. I believe it was the combination of a commitment to excellence and commitment to society, to our people, to the nation. There was a sense of patriotism that we were all charged by. We wanted to do things for India. We wanted to make our country a better place to live in. We recognised the value of hard work, of confirming to the requirements of the dharma of researching and teaching."

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