For Immediate Release
Media contacts:
Jane Turnis
(719) 389-6138
JTurnis@ColoradoCollege.edu
Leslie Weddell
(719) 389-6038
Leslie.Weddell@ColoradoCollege.edu
JASWANT SINGH, ONE OF INDIA’S MOST PROMINENT PUBLIC FIGURES,
TO SPEAK AT COLORADO COLLEGE
Seven-term member of India’s Parliament, current leader of the Opposition,
to discuss “India and Its Larger Neighborhood Today”
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Sept. 28, 2006 – Jaswant Singh, a seven-term member of India’s Parliament who guided India’s foreign policy and steered the nation through its recent emergence as a leading economic power, will discuss “India and 
Its Larger Neighborhood Today” on Oct. 3 at Colorado College.
The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3 in Gates Common Room, on the third floor of Palmer Hall, 1025 N. Cascade Ave. (just east of Tutt Library).
Singh will visit Colorado College to deliver a President’s Distinguished Visitors Lecture. He has been acquainted with CC’s president, Richard F. Celeste, since Celeste served as U.S. ambassador to India from 1997 to 2001. During his visit to the campus, Singh also will meet with a Colorado College international political economy class, leaders of student minority groups, leaders of the college campus association and Boettcher Scholarship recipients.
Singh is one of India’s most respected public figures, having served with distinction in both Houses of Parliament and headed six core ministries of the government of India. He is now leader of the Opposition in India.
He led the transformation of India’s foreign policy from 1998 to 2004, and was one of the architects of India’s Nuclear Doctrine, guiding the positioning of India as a responsible nuclear-weapons-possessing state. In addition, he addressed the consequential U.S. sanctions, Pakistan’s retaliatory tests and global reactions, all with diplomacy that has earned him worldwide admiration.
Singh’s initiatives also led to the Lahore-Delhi Bus Journey of 1999; the unfreezing of relations with China and the launching of bilateral security dialogues that accompanied it; successfully concluding the 50-day Indo-Pak Kargil War; and the resolution of the Indian Airlines hijack in Kandhar, (then a Taliban-ruled city).
As India’s defense minister, Singh modernized the country’s defense program. He pioneered ex-Servicemen’s Contributory Health Scheme, giving veterans and pensioners access to 284 new polyclinics spread uniformly in the country. He also initiated a project to create 198,000 additional housing units for married defense workers.
Singh is the author of India’s software, hardware, telecom and infrastructure policies, having headed the National Task Forces on all these by first formulating policies, then getting those policies adopted by the government.
By formulating guidelines on privatization of airports, seaports and the insurance sector, as well as reviving sectors including coffee, tea, textiles and agriculture, Singh set the country on a path of irreversible economic transformation. He is credited with saving hundreds of thousands of investors from crippling losses by restoring to health the Unit Trust of India, the most popular mutual fund of the country.
Singh chaired many committees of Parliament – on Estimates, Energy, Environment & Forests; those committees’ defense, energy and nuclear-plant safety reports are now reference works.
Singh was asked to accept the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance during a critical situation in the nation’s economy. He quickly achieved a total turnaround, enabling the country to realize an 8.5% growth of its gross domestic product. He pioneered groundbreaking legislations on fiscal management, banking, money laundering, restructuring and numerous other reform measures.
Singh encouraged financial prudence, establishing institutions including the Competition Commission, Serious Frauds Office, National Company Law Boards and Tribunals. The improved financial climate was evident with benign inflation, a strong balance of payment position, steady accumulation of foreign exchange reserves and pre-payment of high-cost external debt.
Singh is originally from the Thar desert. Soon after school, he opted for service in the Army. When barely 19, he was commissioned in the Central India Horse of the Indian Army and fought in the conflicts of 1962 and in 1965. He later resigned his commission to pursue a political career.
Well-known internationally, he is frequently invited to international conferences, think tanks, colleges and universities, and institutions including Chatham House, Brookings, Aspen Group, Asia Society and Council for Foreign Relations. He is an honorary professor of the University of Warwick, and also a senior fellow of Asia Center at Harvard University.
Singh is a widely traveled author, columnist, bibliophile, historiographer and antiquarian. He has authored six books in English and Hindi. He is a skilled horseman and is patron-in-chief of the Indian Polo Association.
His foundations have provided mid-day-meals to primary-school children and disseminated the literature of Dingal (an ancient local language). Singh is a trustee on charities engaged in running hospitals, museums and water conservation projects. His son, Manvendra Singh, is now a member of the Indian Parliament.
For information, directions or disability accommodation at the event, members of the public may call (719) 389-6607.
About Colorado College
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