Mourners gathered in India’s capital on Saturday to pay their respects to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of his state funeral for a leader who was key to the country’s economic liberalization. .
Singh, who served as president from 2004 to 2014, died on Thursday at the age of 92, after which seven days of national mourning were declared.
His coffin, draped in wreaths and flanked by a guard of honor, was taken to the Congress headquarters in New Delhi.
He will then be carried around the capital in a military escort, cremated and given state honors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will attend the funeral along with other leaders, called Singh one of India’s “most distinguished leaders”.
Opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said they had lost a “mentor and mentor”, adding that Singh “led India with immense wisdom and integrity”.
U.S. President Joe Biden called Singh a “true statesman” who “charted breakthroughs that will continue to strengthen our country and our world for generations to come.”
The former prime minister was a modest technocrat who was praised for overseeing an economic boom in his first term.
Mr. Singh’s second term ended in a series of major corruption scandals, slowing growth and high inflation.
The unpopularity of Singh’s second term and the poor leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Nehru-Gandhi’s scion and current leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, led to Modi’s first landslide victory in 2014. .
– Born in 1932 in Ghar, a clay village in then-British India, now Pakistan, Singh studied economics to find a way to eradicate poverty in the vast country.
He won a scholarship to attend Cambridge University, where he earned his first degree in economics, and then completed his PhD at Oxford University.
Mr. Singh has held a series of senior civil service positions, served as central bank governor and held various positions in world organizations, including the United Nations.
He was appointed Finance Minister in 1991 by then Congress Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and was responsible for pulling India out of the worst financial crisis in modern history.
Although he has never held elected office, he was declared a candidate for the National Assembly’s top office in 2004.
Singh led the economy to 9% growth in his first term, giving India the international influence it had long sought.
He also signed a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, which he said will help India meet its growing energy needs.
President Drupadi Murmu said Singh’s “service to the nation, immaculate political life and utmost humility will always be remembered”.
