Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 27: A “gentleman politician,” the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh died of age-related medical conditions on Thursday night at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. He was 92.
The AIIMS where he was admitted on Thursday evening after he fell unconscious at home, in a statement said “With profound grief, we inform the demise of Former Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, aged 92. He was being treated for age-related medical conditions and had sudden loss of consciousness at home on 26th December 2024. Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency at AIIMS, New Delhi at 8:06 PM. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 PM.”
Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister for two terms in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2004 to 2014. He had been in poor health for the last few months. The former prime minister is survived by wife Gurcharan Singh and three daughters.
The government has declared a seven-day national mourning in memory of Dr Singh. His last rites will be performed on Saturday.
The President Droupadi Murmu and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the residence of Dr Singh where his body was kept in a bier draped in national tricolour to pay tributes to the departed leader. In a post on X earlier, Mr Modi paid glowing tributes to his predecessor describing him as one of the most distinguished leaders.
“India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr Manmohan Singh ji. Rising from humble origins, he rose to become a respected economist. He served in various government positions as well, including as Finance Minister, leaving a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years. His interventions in parliament were also insightful. As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives,” Mr Modi said.
“Dr Manmohan Singh ji and I interacted regularly when he was PM and I was the CM of Gujarat. We would have extensive deliberations on various subjects relating to governance. His wisdom and humility were always visible. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the family of Dr Manmohan Singh Ji, his friends and countless admirers. Om Shanti,” he said.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her mother Sonia Gandhi reached the hospital as soon as the news of Manmohan Singh’s hospitalisation became known.
Dr Singh served as finance minister under the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. He was the architect and the brainchild of economic reforms in 1991 that pulled India from the brink of bankruptcy and ushered in an era of economic liberalisation that is widely believed to have changed the course of India’s economic trajectory.
The Congress has cancelled all its programmes till January 2. The Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP Rahul Gandhi who were in Karnataka’s Belagavi attending the Congress Working Committee meeting when news of Manmohan Singh’s death came, are returning to Delhi.
Dr Singh had retired as member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Rajasthan, in February this year. Before this, he represented Assam in the Upper House for six terms since 1991. Showering praise on his last day in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Modi had called him an “inspirational example.” “The way Manmohan Singh guided the country for a long time… Whenever our democracy will be mentioned, he will be one of those few esteemed members whose contribution will be always remembered,” Mr Modi had said.
Described as a reluctant politician, the high point of Dr Singh’s 10-year long Prime Ministership was his handling of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. The economist-turned-politician almost single-handedly turned the tables on the Left parties — providing outside support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance — by securing the support of Samajwadi Party (SP) in a crucial trust vote in July 2008 over the India-U.S. nuclear deal.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has mentioned in his memoir that Dr Manmohan Singh had told him after the July 2011 Mumbai bombings that in case of another such attack, India would have to take military action against Pakistan.