At the heart of Hyderabad's gleaming Financial District — where tech giants like Microsoft and Google anchor an economy that powers over 40 percent of Telangana's output — Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Saturday, September 26, 2026, unveiled a statue and memorial park honouring former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, and issued a pointed demand: the Central government must confer the Bharat Ratna on the architect of India's 1991 economic reforms.

Wipro Circle gets a new landmark

The Dr. Manmohan Singh Memorial Park, built by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) at Wipro Circle in the Financial District, now stands as a permanent tribute in what CM Revanth Reddy called the most fitting address possible. 'The institutions in this Financial District — Microsoft, Google, ISB, the American Consulate — exist because of the liberalisation policies Dr. Manmohan Singh introduced. Placing his statue here is not symbolic. It is accurate,' the Chief Minister said.

The park also preserves a facsimile of Dr. Singh's own signature on the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill — the legislation that created the state of Telangana in 2014 — so that every visitor can see the handwriting of the man who gave the state its existence.

The 1991 moment that CM Revanth Reddy anchored the tribute to

Speaking at the unveiling, the Chief Minister traced Dr. Singh's career arc from economic adviser to Reserve Bank of India Governor, to Finance Minister under PM PV Narasimha Rao, to a two-term Prime Minister (2004–2014). It was in 1991, with India's foreign exchange reserves nearly exhausted and the economy at a breaking point, that Singh introduced Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation — the LPG reforms that reoriented the country's trajectory toward becoming one of the world's largest economies.

'His life and sacrifice should inspire the Gen-Z, Alpha, and Beta generations with a sense of patriotism,' Revanth Reddy said. The Chief Minister also enumerated landmark laws enacted during Singh's premiership: the Right to Education Act, the Right to Information Act, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Food Security Act, legislation protecting tribal rights, and the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act.

Bharat Ratna demand and a proposed Delhi knowledge centre

The event carried political weight beyond commemoration. CM Revanth Reddy formally called on the Central government to award Singh the Bharat Ratna — India's highest civilian honour — and to establish a dedicated knowledge centre in New Delhi in his memory. 'Why does the government have an objection to giving Bharat Ratna to this man? Not recognising a national gem due to political considerations is tragic. There are matters where thinking about politics is simply not acceptable,' he said.

He asked Telangana's Members of Parliament to raise both the Bharat Ratna demand and the Delhi memorial proposal on the floor of Parliament. Whether the BJP-led Central government responds — and how — will now be the story to watch.

A gathering that underscored the event's stature

The unveiling drew a notable cross-section of public life. Among those present were former Chief Justice of India Justice NV Ramana, former Supreme Court Justice B. Sudharshan Reddy, economist and former government adviser Mohan Guruswamy — who shared personal accounts of working alongside Dr. Singh — state ministers, Members of Parliament, and elected representatives. The Telangana government had specifically invited Guruswamy, citing his personal acquaintance with Singh and his deep understanding of the former PM's economic philosophy.

Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away in December 2024. The debate over his legacy — celebrated by one side of Indian politics as transformative, contested by the other over the pace and nature of reforms — has only sharpened since. Telangana has now planted a statue and a political demand squarely in that debate. The next move belongs to Parliament.