Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely seen as the architect of the country's economic reform programme, was cremated after a state funeral on Saturday as politicians and the public mourned his death.
The veteran leader, who was also credited with a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, died Thursday night at age 92.
Singh's body was brought to his Congress party headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday morning, where party leaders and activists paid tribute to him and chanted “Manmohan Singh lives forever.”
Party leader Abhishek Bishnoi said Singh's death was a great loss for the country. “He used to say little, but his talent and his actions spoke louder than his words,” he said.
Later, Singh's body was transported to a crematorium for his last rites while soldiers played drums.
Government officials, politicians and family members paid their last respects to Singh, whose coffin was adorned with flowers and draped in the Indian flag. Security personnel honored him with a ceremonial salute.
The funeral ceremony included Indian President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called Singh one of the country's “most distinguished leaders,” and several cabinet ministers.
Singh's body was then taken to a pyre and cremated while religious hymns were played.
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Authorities declared a seven-day mourning period and canceled all cultural and entertainment events during that time. Government buildings across India fly the national flag at half-mast.
A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh was prime minister for 10 years and leader of the Congress Party in the upper house of Parliament, earning a reputation as a man of great personal integrity. He was elected prime minister in 2004 by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Singh was re-elected in 2009, but his second term was marred by financial scandals and allegations of corruption in the organization of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This led to the Congress Party's crushing defeat in the 2014 national elections at the hands of of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, under the leadership of Narendra Modi.
Singh adopted a low profile after resigning as prime minister.
As Finance Minister, Singh instituted reforms in 1991 that moved India away from a socialist model economy and towards a capitalist model in the face of a huge balance of payments deficit, avoiding a potential economic crisis.
Singh was the first Sikh to hold the country's highest office and publicly apologized in Parliament for the 1984 Sikh massacre, in which around 3,000 Sikhs were killed after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was murdered by her Sikh bodyguards. .
In a move hailed as one of his greatest achievements besides economic reforms, Singh ended India's nuclear isolation by signing an agreement with the United States that gave India access to American nuclear technology.
But the deal hurt his coalition government, as communist allies withdrew their support and criticism of the deal grew within India in 2008, when it was finalized.
US President Joe Biden, in a statement of condolence, called Singh a true statesman and a dedicated public servant who “charted groundbreaking 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.
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