A diplomat, politician, and author. In his public life, Natwar Singh essayed several roles and made the transition between them almost seamlessly over the decades. A former Minister of External Affairs, Singh passed away late on Saturday at the age of 93 years.
Singh was a veteran Congress leader who forayed from diplomacy to politics in the 1980s. He shared a good rapport with Indira Gandhi and later Rajiv, holding important portfolios in his government. But his relationship with the Congress became complicated after he fell out with Sonia Gandhi over allegations of corruption against him when he was the external affairs minister in the UPA-I government and after leaving the government his political career came to an end.
Born on May 16, 1931, in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, Singh, an alumnus of St Stephen’s College in Delhi and Cambridge University, joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1953 and served as India’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK from 1973 to 1977 and was appointed India’s High Commissioner to Zambia in 1977. He also served as Ambassador to Pakistan from 1980 for two years.
In 1983, Singh served as the head of the preparatory committee of the Non-Alignment Summit in New Delhi and the following year was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his efforts. Once he jumped into politics, he was fast-tracked into the Rajiv government and handled important portfolios such as steel, mines, and coal and agriculture from 1985 to 1986. He then served as Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of External Affairs between 1986 and 1989, again under Rajiv Gandhi.
Former PM Rajiv Gandhi with then-Minister of State for Steel Natwar Singh with the chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat at the Delhi airport on April 18, 1985. (Express archive)
After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Singh got sidelined in the Congress as P V Narasimha Rao, with whom he shared a strained relationship, took over as PM. He went on to become a founder member of a breakaway group called the All India Indira Congress.
However, with Sonia at the helm, he returned to the party over a decade later and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002. After the UPA won the 2004 election, he was handed charge of the External Affairs ministry. In 2006, he resigned after his name appeared in the oil-for-food scam. During an investigation, it was found that people close to Singh, including his son Jagat, allegedly made gains from payments in exchange for contracts in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein regime. Singh always maintained that he had not personally made any gains from the payments despite the UN’s Volcker Committee naming him and the Congress as beneficiaries of illegal payments in the scam.
In February 2008, Singh resigned from the Congress, ending his nearly 25-year association with the party. Singh joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2008 but was expelled within months for “anti-party activities” after failing to secure a Rajya Sabha nomination.
Towards the end of his public life, Singh spoke against Sonia and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on several occasions and was also accused of impropriety for revealing personal conversation with them in his autobiography One Life Is Not Enough, published in 2014. In an interview to The Indian Express at the time, Singh defended himself, saying that Sonia is a “historic public figure” and “a public figure does not have a private life”.
“…I have not written this book with any vengeance, malice or bitterness; otherwise I would go down in my own esteem. In the ultimate analysis, I am answerable to myself,” he said. In his book, Singh also claimed that 10 Janpath (Sonia’s residence) was the real power centre of the UPA government.
Singh was also a prolific writer. Apart from his autobiography, Singh also wrote The Legacy of Nehru: A Memorial Tribute and My China Diary 1956-88. He is survived by his wife Heminder Kumari Singh and son Jagat.
On Sunday, President Droupadi Murmu condoled Singh’s demise and called him “an outstanding parliamentarian”. “Sad to learn about the demise of former Union Minister Shri K. Natwar Singh. In his long career, he wore many hats, from a distinguished diplomat to an outstanding parliamentarian. Honoured with Padma Bhushan, he was also a renowned man of letters. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and followers,” the President wrote on X.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Singh made rich contributions to the world of diplomacy and foreign policy. “Pained by the passing away of Shri Natwar Singh Ji. He made rich contributions to the world of diplomacy and foreign policy. He was also known for his intellect as well as prolific writing. My thoughts are with his family and admirers in this hour of grief. Om Shanti,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on X, called Singh an “acclaimed intellectual” and also lauded his contribution to diplomacy and external affairs.
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