Farewell, Dr Manmohan Singh
NEW DELHI: Mortal remains of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames as he was cremated with full state honours in the presence of dignitaries from India and abroad on Saturday. Dr Singh who led India to the path of economic liberalisation in the 1990s died at AIIMS Delhi at the age of 92. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter, Upinder Singh, at the Nigambodh Ghat public crematorium on the banks of Yamuna amid the chanting of religious hymns. Family members, friends, dignitaries, Congress leaders and workers bid farewell to the reformist former prime minister. President Droupadi Murmu, the supreme commander of the armed forces, led the nation in paying last respects to the departed leader who was India’s 14th Prime Minister.
Priests and family members recited religious hymns from the holy Gurbani, while chants of “Satnam Waheguru” filled the air, as Singh was cremated according to Sikh rituals. Before Singh’s mortal remains were consigned to flames, the security forces gave a salute of three volleys of small arms and the buglers sounded the “Last Post” as a mark of honour for the former prime minister. Apart from President Murmu, the last rites of the former prime minister were attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President J P Nadda, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. All of them laid wreaths on mortal remains of Dr Singh as a mark of their last respect. King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the foreign minister of Mauritius, Dhananjay Ramful, were among the foreign dignitaries who paid tributes to Singh, who served as the prime minister from 2004 to 2014. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and the chiefs of the tri-services also laid wreaths on the former prime minister’s mortal remains. Several chief ministers, including Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) and Atishi (Delhi), besides Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, also attended the last rites of Dr Singh.
Former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel were also present, apart from All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries K C Venugopal, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, Randeep Surjewala and several former Union ministers. Among the first ones to place a wreath on the mortal remains of the late prime minister was his political mentor, Sonia Gandhi, to whom he deferred his entire life even at the cost of criticism by political rivals. It was Sonia Gandhi who, after powering the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, stepped back from the prime minister’s chair, nominating Dr Singh to lead the coalition. The quintessential economist went on to steer the nation for the next 10 years, a period that saw him end India’s nuclear apartheid by pushing ahead with the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, despite resistance from the Left Front that was giving support to the UPA from outside. In a show of uncharacteristic firmness in 2008, Singh risked his government over the deal after the Left withdrew support. He faced and won a no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha.
Entering the Rajya Sabha in 1991 as a member from Assam, Singh remained in the House of Elders till April 2024. His last innings in the Upper House was from Rajasthan, the only other state he ever represented besides Assam. Sources close to the family said “Akhand path” would be held at Singh’s residence on January 1 and its “bhog” would be held on January 3. They said the Antim Ardas and kirtan for Singh would be conducted at the Gurdwara Rakab Ganj in the evening of January 3. Earlier in the day, Singh’s body, placed in a flower-bedecked casket and carriage, was taken from his 3, Motilal Nehru residence in Lutyens’ Delhi to the nearby headquarters of the Congress party, which he represented in Parliament for 33 years. At the party office, Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid rich tributes to their leader, as did thousands of Congress workers who had gathered to catch a last glimpse of Singh.
The former prime minister’s final journey then started from the AICC office to the Nigambodh Ghat, where the procession reached around 11:30 am. A large crowd had gathered at the AICC office as well as at the Nigambodh Ghat. The procession moved slowly from the AICC headquarters amid chants of “Manmohan Singh Amar Rahe”. Demands for honouring Singh with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, were also raised during the procession. Draped in the tricolour, the flower-bedecked casket was placed on a raised platform at the ghat, where leaders cutting across party lines laid wreaths on Singh’s mortal remains. Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur and one of their daughters also laid a wreath on his body at the AICC headquarters. The three daughters of Singh — Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh — along with other relatives, were present.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also accompanied the procession, sitting alongside Singh’s relatives in an Army truck just ahead of the casket carrying the former prime minister’s mortal remains. Later, Rahul Gandhi was also among those who carried Singh’s body to the pyre. The party also alleged that the government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was “deliberately insulting” the first Sikh prime minister of the country in not doing so. Earlier, a row erupted between the Centre and the Congress over the allotment of space for Dr Singh’s memorial on Friday. The Congress condemned the allocation of the Nigambodh Ghat for the final rituals instead of a location where a memorial could be built in his honour. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about exploring the possibility of building a memorial for Dr Singh at the same site where the last rites would be held. The government later clarified that a decision to build one had already been conveyed to Kharge by the Union home minister after Friday’s Cabinet meeting. A government statement also said the funeral could be held as the process of setting up a trust and allotting land for the memorial could take a while. Kharge had written to Modi on Friday seeking a memorial for Singh. Several sections of the society also urged the government to confer Bharat Ratna on the late economist-prime minister. The Centre has declared a seven-day state mourning as a mark of respect to Dr Singh. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast across India. The Congress has also declared that all official programs of the party, including the Foundation Day celebration, will be cancelled for the next seven days and will resume on January 3.
