History will be kinder to me, Manmohan Singh had said in the last leg of his prime ministership in 2014.

His successor Narendra Modi has now fast-tracked history to pull off what was once inconceivable: make Manmohan Singh trend on his birthday.

#HappyBirthdayDrMMSingh trended on Twitter for about 15 hours on Saturday, with over 150,000 tweets. The hashtag even topped the chart for some time on the day the economist turned 88.

The credit must surely go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many feel, with some putting it across in an unkind manner that would not find favour with the courteous Singh. “The tragedy is you don’t know the value of a Dr Manmohan Singh until you get a Narendra Modi,” one Twitter user posted.

Not that the name-callers were inactive. Rashtriya Maun Diwas, a hashtag playing on the discourteous word with which Modi had described Manmohan, surfaced during the day but it drew less than 10,000 tweets.

Manmohan himself spent the day mourning the passing of Isher Judge Ahluwalia, the distinguished economist, author and wife of Montek Singh Ahluwalia who had helped the former finance minister with the reforms that changed India.

The sudden outpouring of support for Manmohan cannot be dismissed as a storm in a Twitter cup. It came at a time there appears to be a national yearning for an antidote to the propaganda overkill, nostalgia for grace in power and escape from the overdose of bluff.

Manmohan’s birthday rarely generated any curiosity when he was Prime Minister, partly because of his personality, which values quiet efficiency.

Pilloried during the anti-corruption campaign that no longer looks as spontaneous or lily-white as it was projected by a large section of the media in the run-up to the 2014 general election, Manmohan had told a wrap-up media conference in January that year: “I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the Opposition parties in Parliament.”

Although stirrings of a reappraisal of the much underrated leader were evident soon after Modi took over in 2014, rarely before had Manmohan stood vindicated in such an emphatic manner as he did on Saturday.

Many citizens warmly recalled the virtues he was condemned for when he was in office: quietness, decency, grace and simplicity. While focusing on his unimpeachable honesty and economic vision, most people stressed the importance of dignified behaviour by those in power.

Ironically, the man who was condemned as weak and docile because of his humility and grace was hailed for the same virtues on Saturday by common men and women from all age groups.

The Manmohan government’s failure to advertise the good work done during the 10 years of UPA was largely blamed on his quiet persona, and Modi’s skills for loud propaganda and event management were hailed as political attributes.

If the mood is tilting, a clue was available last week. Modi’s birthday on September 17 was observed as “National Unemployment Day”, something that trended on Twitter the whole day.

On Saturday, the subtext of thousands of tweets was a comparison between the two Prime Ministers.

One tweet said: “Those were the days when the Prime Minister focused on work, not on camera.”

Another listed statistics: “Happy birthday to a Prime Minister who gave 10.8% GDP growth, faced press conferences and knew the spelling of strength.”

A Twitter user put brevity to devastating effect: “He spoke less but not lies.”

Another supplemented: “He showed us the difference between talk and work.”

If some cited Manmohan’s dire prediction on the demonetisation that came true, others dwelt on his humble background which he never tried to exploit for political gains. Many others mentioned his degrees, spoke of the respect he commanded among global leaders and recalled his scholarly achievements.

Rahul Gandhi could not resist the temptation of making a loaded remark, either. “India feels the absence of a PM with the depth of Dr Manmohan Singh. His honesty, decency and dedication are a source of inspiration for us all. Wishing him a very happy birthday and a lovely year ahead,” Rahul tweeted.

Former finance minister and close friend P. Chidambaram advocated the Bharat Ratna for Manmohan. “The story of Dr Singh’s life is a story of the rise of a young boy from a humble background to the heights of public service armed only with one tool — his education and scholarship. The whole nation is proud of the life and service of Dr Singh and holds him as an example for every young boy or girl. If anyone in public life alive today is deserving of Bharat Ratna, it is undoubtedly Dr Manmohan Singh.”

A few contrarian voices were heard as well. Some BJP supporters criticised Manmohan for not being a mass leader and for becoming Prime Minister without getting elected by the people. They also accused him of dancing to Sonia Gandhi’s tune and tolerating corruption.

None of them, however, presented a substantive critique of his performance as Prime Minister and his conduct as a public figure.

Prime Minister Modi, who has effusively praised Congress leaders such as Pranab Mukherjee, wished a “long and healthy” life for his predecessor.