New Delhi, September 26: Manmohan Singh, one of the most renowned economists in the world and former Prime Minister of India, was born on this date in the year 1932. The place of birth is Gah, a village that was then part of the Punjab province in British India. After partition in 1947, the area came under the jurisdiction of Pakistan. On the 88th birthday of the man who led India for 10 years, here are five trivia questions and rare known facts about him. Dr Manmohan Singh Birthday Wishes & HD Images: Wish Former Indian PM With Greetings, GIFs, Photos and Facebook Messages As Former Indian PM Turns 88.

  • Did you know Manmohan Singh was not well versed with Hindi? He was fluent in English, Punjabi and Urdu. According to India Today Magazine, Singh's Hindi speeches were written in Urdu before he read out the same in public or in the Parliament.

  • What Manmohan prefers as snacks? The ex-PM, according to reports, used tea and marie biscuits as energisers during the days when he  was active in public life. It could not be confirmed whether he consumes the same now, considering his age.

  • Which news source does Manmohan prefer? He was a keen listener of the BBC during the morning hours. This was one of the reasons why he was reportedly aware of 2004 Tsunami before the PMO was alerted by disaster management officials.

  • Who were among friends of the ex-PM outside his party? Sharad Pawar of the NCP, Lalu Prasad and late Raghuvansh Prasad Singh of the RJD, late veteran communist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet and late DMK chief M Karunanidhi were among his friends cutting across party lines.

  • Was Manmohan the first PM in over four decades to be re-elected after five-year term? Yes, the economist-turned-politician was the first Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to be retain the post after completing a full tenure.

The tenure of Manmohan as India's Prime Minister stretched from 2004 to 2014. In the midst, the world faced a recession in 2008-09. Even as several developed economies collapsed, India stood firm and managed to cautiously tread through the tough phase. He was replaced by Narendra Modi, who has now been leading the central government for over six years.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2020 07:49 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).