India: Manmohan Singh's last rites were performed

 Saturday 28 December 2024

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th December, 2024 ) Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was cremated with full state honours in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday. A large number of mourners, including the Indian President and Prime Minister, bid farewell to their former leader, who oversaw the country's economic liberalisation policy.

Singh, 92, who was prime minister for a decade between 2004 and 2014, died on Thursday. Manmohan Singh's body was first taken to the headquarters of his party Congress in New Delhi for the last rites, where party leaders and their supporters paid tribute to him. Later, Singh's body was taken to the crematorium along with a military band for his last rites.

The Indian government had declared a seven-day state mourning on his death. All cultural events have been cancelled across the country, while the national flag remained at half-mast on government buildings in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the former leader, calling him one of India's "most distinguished leaders".

Rahul Gandhi, the current leader of the opposition Congress Party, said Singh "led India with immense wisdom and integrity".

US President Joe Biden called him a "true statesman" for promoting economic growth and strengthening ties with the United States.

Manmohan Singh was born in 1932 in the then British-ruled subcontinent, which is now Pakistan. He earned degrees from Cambridge and Oxford and held important senior civil service positions, including governor of the central bank.

He was a soft-spoken technocrat and is best remembered for his work as finance minister in 1991, during which he oversaw India's economic liberalisation to avert a potential economic crisis.

He first became Prime Minister of India in 2004, then took over the country's most important office for a second term in 2008. Singh is also remembered for leading India through a period of rapid economic growth and signing a historic nuclear deal with the United States.