Singh was one of the architects of India’s economic liberalization in the early 1990s and served as president from 2004 to 2014.
India has announced seven days of mourning and a state funeral for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, hailed as one of the architects of economic liberalization in the early 1990s.
The government announced Friday that mourners will be allowed to pay their respects until Jan. 1 and that a state funeral will be held “as a mark of respect for the deceased dignitary,” who died at the age of 92 in a New Delhi hospital on Thursday.
An official date for the state funeral was not immediately announced, but a senior member of the National Congress party suggested that a ceremony to fly the national flag at half-mast at government buildings across the country could be held on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Singh, who served from 2004 to 2014, as one of the country’s “most distinguished leaders,” and the Times of India described him as “the man who unleashed the Indian dream.” ” ran a memorial article on the front page.
The Indian cricket team paid tribute to Singh on Friday by wearing black armbands as they took to the Melbourne ground to play hosts Australia in the fourth Test.
humble beginnings
Born in 1932 in the mud hut village of Ghar in present-day Pakistan, Singh rose from a poor family to high office.
He studied economics to find ways to eradicate poverty in a vast country, winning a scholarship to earn a first degree in economics from two of Britain’s most prestigious universities, Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. from Oxford University. I got the number.
Mr. Singh has held a series of senior civil service positions, served as central bank governor, and held various positions in world organizations such as the United Nations.
Appointed in 1991 to lead India back from the worst financial crisis in modern history, he went on to oversee a significant economic boom in his first term as prime minister.
He also signed a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, which he said will help India meet its growing energy needs.
However, Mr Singh’s second term ended in a series of major corruption scandals, slowing growth and high inflation.
Singh’s unpopular second term and the lackluster leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the current opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, led to Modi’s first landslide victory in 2014.