New Delhi: In her book Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan, Daman Singh, daughter of the former Prime Minister, shares intimate details about her father's early life, revealing personal reasons behind his reluctance to visit Gah, his birthplace in what is now Pakistan. When asked by her sister Kiki if he wished to return to Gah, Singh's response was clear: "No, not really. That is where my grandfather was killed.
" Manmohan Singh, who grew up in the village of Gah before moving to India during the Partition, had deep emotional connections to his early life, which were marred by violence. The tragic loss of his grandfather in Gah was a painful memory that he carried with him. Daman Singh also shed light on her father's resilience during his student days at Cambridge University, where financial struggles were a constant challenge.
Despite receiving a scholarship, Singh often faced hardships, relying on frugal living, subsidised meals, and at times, subsisting on a sixpence bar of Cadbury's chocolate when money from home was delayed. According to Daman Singh, "money was the only real problem" for her father, with his tuition and living expenses amounting to about 600 pounds a year, while the Punjab University scholarship only provided 160 pounds. To make ends meet, Singh lived frugally, often relying on subsidised meals in the university dining hall and avoiding luxuries like eating out or drinking beer or wine.
"For the rest he had to depend on his father. Manmohan was car.