India has begun a seven-day period of mourning to honor former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who passed away late Thursday at the age of 92, The Associated Press reports.
The government has canceled all cultural and entertainment events for the week, and the national flag will fly at half-staff on all government buildings across the country.
Singh, widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program, is scheduled to be cremated on Saturday. His body, placed in a glass casket adorned with flowers and draped in the Indian flag, has been made available for public viewing, allowing leaders and mourners to pay their respects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Singh’s family home to offer his condolences. In a video message, Modi lauded Singh’s life as “a reflection of his honesty and simplicity.”
A soft-spoken technocrat, Manmohan Singh served as prime minister for ten years and also led the Congress Party in the upper house of Parliament. He earned a reputation for personal integrity during his tenure. Handpicked by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Singh assumed the premiership in 2004.
He was re-elected in 2009, but his second term was marred by financial scandals and corruption allegations linked to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This ultimately contributed to the Congress Party’s significant defeat in the 2014 national election, which saw the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, rise to power.
Following his departure from the prime minister’s office, Singh maintained a low public profile.
