NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was cremated with full state honours at Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi on Saturday.
The ceremony was attended by top Indian and foreign dignitaries, who gathered to pay their final respects to the esteemed leader.
Singh’s eldest daughter, Upinder Singh, lit the funeral pyre during the chanting of religious hymns.
The solemn ceremony was attended by President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and senior Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi.
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Foreign dignitaries, including Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful, also paid tribute to the former prime minister.
Other prominent figures at the cremation included Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, and the chiefs of the three armed services also attended to pay their respects.
Singh’s casket, draped in the Tricolour and surrounded by flowers, was placed on a raised platform at the crematorium, where leaders from various political parties laid wreaths.
Singh’s tenure as prime minister saw remarkable progress in India’s relations with several countries, including Bhutan and Mauritius.
The final journey of the former prime minister began at the AICC headquarters on Saturday morning.
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A procession, with Singh’s flower-bedecked mortal remains, departed the Congress office to the chants of “Manmohan Singh amar rahe” (Long live Manmohan Singh).
Thousands of Congress workers, leaders, and well-wishers marched in solidarity, chanting “Jab tak suraj chand rahega, tab tak tera naam rahega” (As long as the sun and moon exist, your name will remain).
Before 9 am, Singh’s body was taken to the AICC headquarters from his residence on Motilal Nehru Road, where it was kept for about an hour.
Several top Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi, paid their final respects.
Singh’s wife, Gursharan Kaur, and one of his daughters also participated in the tribute.
Other notable figures who attended included former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Congress general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and several state chief ministers, including Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, D.K. Shivakumar, and Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.
At Nigambodh Ghat, preparations for the funeral were completed ahead of the 11:45 am ceremony, where Singh was cremated with full state honours.
In response to the state funeral, traffic advisories were issued, with key diversions and restrictions in place from 7 am to 3 pm across Delhi.
Singh, who passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92 due to age-related health complications, was a key figure in India’s economic reforms and served as prime minister from 2004 to 2014.
In his honour, a seven-day national mourning has been declared across the country, with the national flag flying at half-mast.
