Former Indian Prime Minister mourns at state funeral

India mourned one of its longest-serving prime ministers, Manmohan Singh, with a state funeral in Delhi.

Singh ruled the country from 2004 to 2014 and was considered the architect of India’s economic liberalization. He died on Thursday at the age of 92.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at the ceremony on Saturday. He described Singh as one of the “most outstanding leaders of the country”.

Mourners gathered across the capital to pay their respects as Singh’s coffin, flanked by a guard of honor, was taken through the city to the cremation site.

His eldest daughter lit his funeral pyre at the crematorium in front of Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and senior members of Singh’s Congress party.

Foreign dignitaries such as King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Foreign Minister of Mauritius Dhananjay Ramful were also present.

Singh received full state honors in a ceremony that included a 21-gun salute.

After his death on Thursday evening, the government declared seven days of national mourning.

Modi paid tribute shortly after his death, saying Singh’s “wisdom and humility were always visible in their interactions” and that as prime minister he had made “extensive efforts to improve people’s lives”.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who was also present at the funeral, said he had lost “a mentor and guide”.

Among the foreign honors, US President Joe Biden said his country’s “unprecedented cooperation” with India would not have been possible without Singh’s “strategic vision and political courage”.

“He was a true statesman. A dedicated civil servant. And most of all, he was a kind and humble person,” Biden said in a statement.

Singh changed the course of economic growth in India during his time as Prime Minister and as the country’s Finance Minister in 1991.

He is remembered for saying in his first Budget speech, “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.”

As prime minister, he continued to expand his economic reform efforts, lifting millions of people out of poverty and contributing to India’s emergence as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.

Singh, the first Sikh to hold India’s top post, formally apologized in 2005 for the 1984 riots in which around 3,000 Sikhs were killed.

He was also the first Indian leader after Jawaharlal Nehru, who led the country from 1947 until his death in 1964, being re-elected after a full first term.

However, Singh’s second term was marred by a series of corruption allegations.

Many say the scandals were partly responsible for his Congress party’s crushing defeat in the 2014 general elections.