Sthanam Narasimha Rao · Ultimate

We remember the man who liberalized India, but we rarely remember the man who did the liberalizing. It was June 1991. India was bankrupt. Literally. The country had just 15 days worth of foreign exchange reserves left. The treasury was so empty that the government had to pawn its gold reserves to stay afloat. The Soviet Union, our largest trading partner, was collapsing. Chaos reigned.

He was the unlikeliest of revolutionaries. Here is where Rao’s story gets complex—and why history has been unkind. Rao was a devout Brahmin who understood the scriptures. When the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 (during his tenure), history has largely blamed him for "weakness" or "complicity." sthanam narasimha rao

There is a unique kind of tragedy in Indian politics—the tragedy of . We remember the man who liberalized India, but

He is the man who "opened" Israel without formally recognizing it (relations were established in 1992). He brought the "Look East" policy to life, pivoting India toward ASEAN nations, predicting the rise of China and the need for India to counterbalance it decades before it became fashionable. The Congress party, for a long time, neglected him because he wasn't from the "Gandhi family." He was a regional leader who rose on merit. After his tenure ended in 1996, and the Congress lost the election, Rao was sidelined. Worse, he was implicated in a bribery scandal (the JMM bribery case—from which he was later acquitted), and the party distanced itself from him. Literally

In a country that loves to deify its leaders, Rao remains the exception. Walk down any major street in Delhi, Mumbai, or Hyderabad, and you will find statues of political dynasts, freedom fighters, and regional strongmen. But you will rarely find a statue of the man who actually pulled India out of the economic dark ages.

We build statues for those who win wars. We should build libraries for those who win futures.

When he died in 2004, the funeral was not attended by the pomp and ceremony usually reserved for a former PM. It was quiet. Scholarly. A reflection of the man himself. P.V. Narasimha Rao was not a charismatic leader. He did not wave a sword. He did not give thunderous speeches that made the crowd roar. He stammered slightly. He spoke in whispers.