NewDelhi: Today, former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was cremated at Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi after his death on the night of December 26. The ceremony was officiated with full state honours and was attended by many dignitaries like President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, among others. Bhutan’s king was also in attendance at the ceremony.
The country bid farewell to Singh, who was a major player in the economic reforms in India. His body was carried from his house at 3 Motilal Nehru Road to the Congress office this morning around 8 AM. Public quiet homage for a short time was held at the Congress office, where several party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, presented their condolences, and then his body was taken to the cremation site at Nigambodh Ghat.
Dr. Singh breathed his last at 92, having been admitted to AIIMS due to respiration problems. He had been in the hospital with old age-related health issues and was admitted just before he passed away. Singh, who was at the helm of the nation from 2004 to 2014, is commemorated for the major contributions he made to the economy and also for the key reforms he implemented that altered the nation’s political landscape.
As a measure of honour, the central government has announced a period of 7 days of mourning across the nation. During his tenure, Singh launched flagship programs including the Right to Information (RTI), the Right to Education (RTE), and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He was also instrumental in the process of the economic liberalisation of India during the financial crisis of 1991.
Dr. Singh was born on the 26th of September in 1932 in Gah, Pakistan, and his family came to India during the partition in 1947. He pursued studies in economics at Punjab University while he obtained a D.Phil. at Oxford University. His political career began in the 1990s when he was appointed as finance minister in Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s government. His policies were the building blocks for India’s economic liberalisation and integration into the global market.
The tributes to Dr. Singh still keep coming in as people muse over his legacy as a renowned thinker and politician who largely influenced modern India.
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