INDIA MOURNS EX-PM MANMOHAN SINGH'S DEATH, HAILS HIS LEGACY OF ECONOMIC REFORMS

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, Dec 27 (Bernama) -- India mourned former prime minister Manmohan Singh's passing by remembering his legacy of transforming the country's economy.

Singh died at the age of 92 in New Delhi on Thursday night.

A member of the Sikh religious community, he served as prime minister for 10 years until May 2014 as head of the Congress party-led coalition government.

Singh was brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after sudden loss of consciousness at home.

"Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9.51 pm," the hospital said.

Indians were united in paying tributes to him, with many recalling his role in introducing economic reforms as finance minister between 1991 and 1996.

Before Singh delivered his budget speech in parliament in July 1991, announcing a raft of measures to open up India's highly-regulated economy, notoriously known as the "Licence Raj", the country was in a precarious balance of payment crisis.

Nearly 50 tonnes of gold reserves were shipped abroad to raise the critically needed foreign exchange.

Singh's reforms were credited with the economic recovery and ushering in a new era in which India became better integrated with the global economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tribute described Singh as one of India's most distinguished leaders.

"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," he said.

Rahul Gandhi, who is leader of the Opposition in the lower house of parliament, said the former prime minister led India with "immense wisdom and integrity".

"I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the utmost pride," he said.

Singh was a member of the upper house of parliament, known as the Rajya Sabha, for 33 years starting in 1991.

He was born on 26 September 1932 in Gah village in Chakwal in the undivided Punjab.

His native place is now in Pakistan from where Singh's family moved to Amritsar in Indian Punjab following the subcontinent's division in 1947.

Although he spoke Hindi well, his "Hindi" speeches were written in the Urdu script due to his command over Urdu.

Singh obtained a degree in economics in 1957 from the University of Cambridge in Britain and later D.Phil in economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962.

He taught at universities in India and served in various government positions.

His illustrious public life includes a stint as governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

He is also credited with reaching a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States in 2008, a development that opened avenues for further deepening military and economic ties between the two countries.

Singh was known as a soft-spoken intellectual and respect for him transcended party lines.

"He was a good and patient man, a brilliant economist, and a colleague I valued and respected. He will be remembered in history as the man who changed the course of India’s economic future," former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda said.

The anti-Sikh carnage of 1984, following prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination, pained him and he made a public apology.

"I have no hesitation in apologizing to the Sikh community. I apologize not only to the Sikh community, but to the whole Indian nation because what took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our Constitution," he said during a discussion in parliament in 2005.

While Singh's market reforms are praised for India's rise as an economic power and creating a new generation of Indian billionaires, a number of mega scandals emerged in which some of the country's wealthiest found mention.

Singh is personally considered clean, but his government faced criticism over the scams.

"I do not believe that I have been a weak prime minister," Singh said in a press conference in January 2014.

"I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or for that matter the opposition in parliament," he said.

He stood vindicated as the respect for him and his low-profile leadership had grown in recent years.

There is clear recognition that he delivered both as finance minister and prime minister during India's difficult years.

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

-- BERNAMA