Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has died at the age of 92

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is regarded as the architect and landmark of India’s economic reform program. nuclear deal He died with the United States. He was 92 years old.

Singh was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Thursday evening after his health deteriorated due to “sudden loss of consciousness at home”, the hospital said in a statement.

“Immediately resuscitation measures were started at home. He was brought to the Emergency Department at 8:06 p.m.,” the hospital said, but “despite all efforts, it was not possible to revive him and he died at 9:51 p.m.”

Singh was being treated for “age-related medical conditions,” the statement said.

A moderate technocrat, Singh became one of them Longest serving Prime Ministers of India He was the leader of the Congress Party in the Upper House of Parliament for 10 years and earned a reputation as a man of great personal integrity. He was chosen Sonia Gandhi, widow of slain Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 2004, to fill the role.

But his face was tarnished by corruption charges against his ministers.

Singh was re-elected in 2009, but his second term as prime minister was marred by financial scandals and corruption allegations surrounding the organization of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This led to the Congress Party’s crushing defeat of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi in the 2014 national elections.

Singh adopted a low profile after giving up the post of prime minister.

Prime Minister ModiSingh’s successor in 2014 called him one of India’s “most outstanding leaders” who came from humble origins and “has left a strong mark on our economic policy over the years”.

“As our Prime Minister, he has made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives,” Modi said in a post on social media platform X. He called Singh’s interventions in parliament as an MP “insightful” and “his wisdom and humility were always evident.”

Rahul Gandhi, who is from the same party as Singh and the leader of the opposition in India’s lower house of parliament, said that Singh’s “deep understanding of economics inspired the nation” and that he “led India with great wisdom and integrity”.

Gandhi wrote on page X: “I have lost a mentor and a guide. He will be remembered with great pride by the millions who admired him.”

Condolences with the United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Singh is “one of the greatest champions of the US-India strategic partnership,” he said.

“We are saddened by Dr. Singh’s passing and will always remember the sacrifice he made to bring the United States and India closer together,” Blinken said.

Born on September 26, 1932, in a village in the undivided Indian state of Punjab, Singh’s brilliant academic career took him to Cambridge University in Britain, where he earned a degree in economics in 1957. He later obtained a doctorate in economics from Nuffield. College at Oxford University in 1962.

Singh taught at Panjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics before joining the Indian government in 1971 as an economic adviser in the Ministry of Commerce. In 1982, he became the chief economic advisor of the Ministry of Finance. He also served as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

As finance minister, Singh introduced reforms in 1991 opened up the economy and faced with a large balance of payments deficit, moving India away from a socialist model economy towards a capitalist model, paving the way for a potential economic crisis.

His awards include the 1987 Padma Vibhushan Award, India’s second highest civilian award; Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress in 1995; and the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year in 1993 and 1994.

Singh was a member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament and Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2004 before being appointed Prime Minister. He was the first Sikh to hold the country’s highest office and publicly apologized in Parliament for the 1984 Sikh massacre in which nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh guards.

Under Singh, India passed the Right to Information Act in 2005 to promote accountability and transparency of government officials and bureaucrats. He was also instrumental in implementing a welfare scheme that guaranteed at least 100 days of paid work for the citizens of rural India.

The coalition government he led for ten years brought together politicians and parties with different ideologies who were rivals in different states of the country.

In a move hailed as one of his greatest achievements apart from economic reforms, Singh ended India’s nuclear isolation and signed India into a treaty with the United States. American nuclear technology.

But the deal backfired on his government, with communist allies withdrawing support and criticism of the accord growing in India after its conclusion in 2008.

Singh adopted a pragmatic foreign policy approach, pursuing a peace process with his nuclear rival and neighbor. Pakistan. But his efforts suffered a major setback when Pakistani militants carried out a massive gun and bomb attack in Mumbai in November 2008.

He also tried to end a border dispute with China by brokering a deal to reopen the Nathu La pass to Tibet, which had been closed for more than 40 years.

His 1965 book “India’s Export Tendencies and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth” dealt with India’s inward-looking trade policy.

Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters.

____

Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.