Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who instituted economic reforms, cremated in New Delhi
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who instituted economic reforms, cremated in New Delhi
NEW DELHI (AP) — Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program, was cremated after a state funeral on Saturday as politicians and the public mourned his death.
The veteran leader, who was also credited for a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, died late Thursday at age 92.
Singh’s body was taken Saturday morning to the headquarters of his Congress party in New Delhi, where party leaders and activists paid tributes to him and chanted “Manmohan Singh lives forever.”
Abhishek Bishnoi, a party leader, said Singh’s death was big loss for the country. “He used to speak little, but his talent and his actions spoke louder than his words,” he said.
Later, Singh’s body was transported to a crematorium ground for his last rites as soldiers beat drums.
Government officials, politicians and family members paid their last respects to Singh, whose casket was adorned with flowers and wrapped in the Indian flag. Security personnel honored him with a ceremonial gun salute.
Indian President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called Singh one of the country’s “most distinguished leaders,” and several Cabinet ministers participated in the funeral ceremony.
Singh’s body was then transferred to a pyre and cremated as religious hymns played.
Authorities declared a seven-day mourning period and canceled all cultural and entertainment events during that time. Government buildings across India are flying the national flag at half-staff.
A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh was prime minister for 10 years and leader of the Congress party in Parliament’s upper house, earning a reputation as a man of great personal integrity. He was chosen to be prime minister in 2004 by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Singh was reelected in 2009, but his second term was clouded by financial scandals and corruption charges over the organization of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This led to the Congress party’s crushing defeat in 2014 national elections by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi.
Singh adopted a low profile after relinquishing the post of prime minister.
As finance minister, Singh in 1991 instituted reforms that moved India away from a socialist-patterned economy and toward a capitalist model in the face of a huge balance of payments deficit, skirting a potential economic crisis.
Singh was the first Sikh to hold the country’s top post and made a public apology in Parliament for the 1984 Sikh Massacre in which some 3,000 Sikhs were killed after then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.
In a move hailed as one of his biggest achievements apart from economic reforms, Singh ended India’s nuclear isolation by signing a deal with the U.S. that gave India access to American nuclear technology.
But the deal hurt his coalition government, with Communist allies withdrawing their support and criticism of the agreement growing within India in 2008 when it was finalized.
U.S. President Joe Biden in a condolence statement called Singh a true statesman and a dedicated public servant who “charted pathbreaking progress that will continue to strengthen our nations — and the world — for generations to come.”
“The unprecedented level of cooperation between the United States and India today would not have been possible without the prime minister’s strategic vision and political courage,” Biden said.
By AIJAZ HUSSAIN
Associated Press
