Doctor or Economist? Here's how Dr Manmohan Singh forged a path of glory for himself

According to a book by his daughter, Manmohan Singh initially enrolled in a pre-medical course as his father hoped he would become a doctor, but he dropped out after a few months due to a lack of interest in the subject, reported Deccan Herald.

Singh passed away on Thursday night, yesterday, December 27, at the age of 92, after suddenly losing consciousness at home. In her 2014 book Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan, Daman Singh, the former PM's daughter, also mentioned that economics was a field that greatly appealed to him.

In April 1948, Singh was admitted to Khalsa College in Punjab's Amritsar.

Daman Singh, in her book, wrote that Manmohan Singh initially joined a two-year FSc (pre-medical) course to pursue medicine, as his father wanted him to become a doctor. However, after a couple of months, he dropped out due to a lack of interest in both medicine and science.

She had quoted him saying, "I didn't have the time to think," based on conversations with her parents and research for the book.

Manmohan Singh started off at his father's humble shop
"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," Manmohan Singh said.

On his education, it is further revealed that 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 told his daughter.

Struggles while abroad
While studying at Cambridge University, Manmohan Singh faced several financial difficulties, with his tuition and living expenses totaling around 600 pounds per year.

The Panjab University scholarship covered 160 pounds, and he relied on his father for the rest. Daman Singh wrote that her father lived frugally, avoiding eating out or indulging in any luxury or consuming beer or wine.

When money from home was delayed or insufficient, he would skip meals or survive on a small bar of Cadbury’s chocolate.