Former PM Manmohan Singh recalls G Parthasarath's role in building centres of excellence

NEW DELHI: Glowing tributes were today paid to former diplomat G Parthasarathi by a group of eminent citizens including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who recalled his pioneering contribution in building several institutions of repute and integration of Kashmir with India.

In his address at an event, the former Prime Minister spoke about the role played by Parthasarathi in inception of think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and the "brick by brick" evolution of the Jawaharlal Nehru University ( JNU).

Singh was speaking at the RIS here on the occasion of naming a conference hall at its office after G Parthasarathi, who was affectionately known as 'GP'.

"I came to know Parthsarthi when he was our Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Our association became more intimate after he came back as the vice-chancellor of the JNU, which he built brick by brick.

"The fact that JNU has grown to be such a renowned institution of national learning is, in large measure, due to the sustained and dedicated hard work that Parthasarathi did in the most formative period of its evolution," Singh said.

Besides Singh, a number of other eminent citizens including former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and retired Commodore C Uday Bhaskar also paid tributes to Parthasarathi.

Singh, recalling GP's contribution in the integration of Kashmir with India, said, "his great role in persuading another great personality of our time, Sheikh Abdullah, to accept the logic of Kashmir being an integral part of India is unforgettable."

"When history of that period is written, I think Parthasarathi's role in bringing out that reconciliation will be admirably recorded," he added.

The former prime minister said that GP's multidisciplinary approach to solving real-life problems was an asset and added that he never compromised on his deep and abiding commitment to social equality.

On the role of RIS, Singh said, "the vision of GP that RIS should work as a leading and effective global think-tank of developing countries for promoting greater South-South economic development cooperation, must always remain the guiding principle of the work of RIS."

RIS is autonomous think-tank under the Ministry of External Affairs.

His son Ashok Parthasarathi, a former secretary to Government of India, also recalled his father's contribution in builing institutions of excellence.

"Last year we celebrated his birth centenary and a volume on that will be brought out soon," he said.