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Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who liberalized the economy and led the country into an era of strong economic growth, has died.
Singh, 92, had been receiving treatment for age-related diseases, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi said when announcing his death on Thursday.
As finance minister from 1991 to 1996, the Oxford University-educated economist paved the way for India to become a fast-growing economy by opening it up to more foreign trade and private investment.
Considered politically light-hearted in some parts of India at the time, Singh was the Congress Party’s surprise choice as prime minister after winning the 2004 parliamentary elections.
Singh’s 10 years as prime minister, with a growth rate of nearly 7%, were marred by widespread corruption allegations against party leaders, but his personal integrity was rarely questioned.
Singh was accused of inaction and the opposition party claimed that he was subservient to the then Congress president, Sonia Gandhi.
In 2014, shortly before the Congress lost the elections to Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party, Singh said in a speech to parliament: “History will be kinder to me than to the modern media or the opposition party.” .
Prime Minister Modi on Thursday described Singh as one of India’s most prominent leaders, saying he had “left a strong mark on our economic policy over the years” and as prime minister had “made extensive efforts to improve the lives of the people.”
Congress party lawmaker Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to Singh, saying the country had lost a “mentor and guide” whose “humility and deep understanding of economics inspired the nation”.
Singh, who had been a member of the National Assembly for over 30 years, retired from politics earlier this year.
The gentle Singh, who belonged to India’s minority Sikh community, was born into a humble family in a village in Punjab, India (now part of Pakistan) in 1932, before India gained independence.
Singh became one of India’s most successful economists, serving the government in various positions including Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in the 1980s.
