Kohli family in Hubballi quietly mourns demise of Manmohan Singh

Although related to the former Prime Minister of India, the simple and soft-spoken Kohlis never showed off their ‘high-profile connection’. The connection came to light only after a section of the media highlighted it when Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister.

As the country mourns the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a family in Hubballi recalled the simplicity of the economist, on whom power and position never made any impact.

Seven decades ago, Harnam Singh Kohli chose Hubballi to start a business in automobile spare parts, which is now being run by his second son Manmeet Singh. He is married to Harpreet Kaur Kohli, who is the younger sister of Gurusharan Kaur, wife of Manmohan Singh.

Although related to the former Prime Minister of India, the simple and soft-spoken Kohlis never showed off their ‘high-profile connection’. The connection came to light only after a section of the media highlighted it after Mr. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister.

When the Congress won the general elections, the Kohli family sat in front of the television set to watch Manmohan Singh take the oath of the office of the Prime Minister. They rejoiced by distributing sweets and bursting crackers. Although Manmohan Singh never visited the Kohlis in Hubballi, the Kohli family regularly visited the Singhs in New Delhi. The visits came down subsequently because of the security restrictions.

When Harpreet Kaur passed away at the age of 67 in 2010, Gurusharan Kaur had come to Hubballi, accompanied by her daughter Daman Singh Kaur, to offer condolences to the Kohli family and take part in the final rituals. The mother and daughter had stayed in the Hubballi circuit house for two days. They took part in the ‘antim ardas’ (final prayer) held in the gurdwara at Deshpande Nagar in Huballi. As it was a private visit, Gurusharan Kaur made it a point to settle all the bills personally at the circuit house before she catching the flight from Hubballi to Delhi.

Harnam Singh Kohli, now 84, is not able to communicate much because of age-related factors, but his son Manmeet Singh recalled Mr. Singh’s humility and care.  The Kohlis had last gone to meet the Singhs in New Delhi in 2018. Of late, they were in touch through telephone.

“My brothers had gone to Delhi in 2022 to meet them. They (Mr Singh and Gurusharan Kaur) remained the same, and treated all of us with humility, despite their fame and position,” he recalled.