Manmohan Singh joined pre-medical course, but lost interest, says daughter

'Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan' provides new insights into the lives of former PM and his wife

Manmohan Singh had joined a pre-medical course as his father wanted him to become a doctor but pulled out after a couple of months, losing interest in the subject, according to a book on the former prime minister by his daughter.

Daman Singh charts the journey of her parents in her book “Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan”, providing new insights into the couple but keeps away from the last 10 years when Singh was heading the UPA government. She also finds her father to be a funny man saying he has a good sense of humour.In April 1948, Singh was admitted to Khalsa College in Amritsar.

“Since his father wanted him to become a doctor, he joined the two-year FSc course that would lead to further studies in medicine. After just a couple of months, he dropped out. He had lost interest in becoming a doctor. In fact, he had also lost interest in studying science,” Daman writes.

“I didn’t have the time to think,” the author, who based her book on conversations with her parents and hours spent in libraries and archives, quotes her father as saying.

“I went and joined my father in his shop. I didn't like that either, because I was not treated as an equal. I was treated as an inferior person who ran errands - bringing water, bringing tea. Then I thought I must go back to college. And I entered Hindu College in September 1948,” Singh recalls.

Economics was a subject that appealed to him immediately. “I was always interested in issues of poverty, why some countries are poor, why others are rich. And I was told that economics is the subject which asks these questions,” Singh tells his daughter.

While studying at Cambridge University, money was the only real problem that bothered Singh, the book, published by HarperCollins India, says.