India: State funeral of former Prime Minister Singh

Indians paid their last respects on Saturday in New Delhi to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for his economic reforms which made the country a world power, before his state funeral.

Died Thursday at the age of 92, Manmohan Singh, who led India from 2004 to 2014, is hailed for having overseen during his first term an economic boom in the country, now the third largest economy in the world. Asia.

His coffin, surrounded by a guard of honor and decorated with flowers in the orange, white and green colors of the national flag, was transported to the headquarters of his party, the Indian National Congress. His remains are to be cremated later Saturday in the capital.

“One of the greatest leaders”

Current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, like other leaders, must attend the funeral, paid tribute to “one of the greatest leaders” that India has known.

The period of national mourning formally began on Thursday and runs until Wednesday inclusive.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said he had lost “a mentor and a guide”, saying Manmohan Singh had led the country “with great wisdom and integrity”.

Getting India out of the worst financial crisis in its contemporary history

Born in 1932 in Gah in what is now Pakistan, Manmohan Singh studied economics at Cambridge and Oxford. He had never held an elected office before becoming head of government.

He was governor of the country’s Central Bank and was asked in 1991 to get India out of the worst financial crisis in its contemporary history.

During his first term, India’s economy grew 9% annually, giving the country the international clout it had long sought.

A series of corruption cases

Slower growth in subsequent years, however, marred his second term. He also sealed a historic nuclear deal with the United States that he said would help India meet its growing energy needs.

Known as “Mr. Clean”, he had seen his image tarnished during his ten years in power after the disclosure of a series of corruption cases.

Manmohan Singh had become a vocal critic of Prime Minister Modi’s economic policies, also warning of the risks posed by growing communal tensions to Indian democracy.

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