Dr Manmohan Singh's mortal remains were consigned to the flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday, December 28, 2024 amid the chanting of religious hymns.
'Maybe he was wrong, but they believed he genuinely meant what he said.'
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
22 images that captures glimpses of a most unusual Indian who led the nation for 10 years.
Dr Singh's eldest daughter Professor Upinder Singh gently reminded the gathering that this was a moment for prayer, not accolades.
'When the accused has a past record demonstrating unprecedented and unmatched criminality and perversion, I believe the interests of justice would have been better served if such a person remained behind bars.'
Dr Manmohan Singh's ashes were immersed in the Yamuna river near the Majnu ka Tila gurdwara by members of his family following Sikh rituals.
On Friday, December 27, 2024, the Bhutanese king led the Himalayan nation in offering prayers for Dr Singh at a Buddhist monastery in Thimphu.
'Suddenly we had a new comprehension of affairs, which reminded that the luxury of politics floated atop a foundation by economics.' 'Along with this, finance ministers became crucial in molding the perception and reputation of Union Cabinets.' 'Governments couldn't afford a wrong person in that portfolio,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
'I had to make sure that our much misunderstood erstwhile prime minister did not get a raw deal.'
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus paid tribute to Dr Manmohan Singh at the Indian high commission in Dhaka.
The nation bid farewell to one of its tallest sons, Dr Manmohan Singh, at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday, December 28, 2024.
Nitin Desai, who has known Dr Singh from 1971, extends his 'deepest condolences to his wife Gurcharan Kaur and to his three talented daughters Upinder, the historian; Daman, the writer; and Amrit, the human rights activist.'
'Mrs Gandhi had nothing to do in the day-to-day working of Dr Singh's government.' 'People say Mrs Gandhi's office used to give orders, which is nonsense.'
"Dr Manmohan Singh, soon after becoming the prime minister, had himself carried a small table for us to have tea comfortably at his Safdarjung Lane residence instead of asking his house help," Dr Srinath Reddy, who was the chairperson of the PM's medical panel, recalled.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi, senior Cabinet ministers, Congress and Opposition leaders paid their respects to former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed into the ages on Thursday night, at his residence in New Delhi on Friday.
Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh was shown black flags at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) by Left-backed students who were staging a protest during his visit to the campus in 2005. The incident led to show-cause notices to students by the university with few of them getting detained by the Delhi Police. However, a day later Dr Singh intervened, suggesting to the then vice chancellor (VC) B B Bhattacharya to be lenient with students.
Condolences have poured in from across the globe, including from the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
'All the big things happening today in economic development have their beginning in Dr Manmohan Singh's ideas.'
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
'He will be remembered more for what he did as finance minister -- as someone who functioned well when the political fallout was taken care of.'
Manmohan Singh represented the finest aspects of India, asserts Aakar Patel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were among the top leaders who paid homage to former prime minister Manmohan Singh at his home in New Delhi on Friday.
'I had to persuade him. I think he was a sceptic to begin with, but later on he was convinced that what we were doing was the right thing to do, that there was no other way out.'
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'The sense of Constitutional propriety and political morality seems to be vanishing fast.' 'There are many things in today's politics of governance which Manmohan Singh would have never dreamt of saying or doing.'
Dr Manmohan Singh first embossed himself on the national consciousness when as India's finance minister he flagged off economic reforms which changed this nation forever.
'Shashi Tharoor is destroying the history of India.' 'He is distorting facts about the Congress party.'
An Indian delegation led by the BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad will tour key European capitals to expose Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism and State-sponsored extremism.
Gursharan Kaur and daughter Daman Singh pay their respects to Dr Singh's mortal remains at the AICC HQ in New Delhi.
The mortal remains of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.
The Congress party on Monday defended its decision not to accompany the family of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the immersion of his ashes in the Yamuna, stating it was to ensure their privacy. Congress leader Pawan Khera said senior leaders did not accompany the family to gather and immerse the ashes of Dr Singh "out of our deference to the privacy of the family."
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday accused him of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the PM by giving "hateful speeches" during the poll campaign.
He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even its gold reserve was pledged.
Join India in wishing Dr Singh a quick recovery.
Gems of wisdom from Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed into the ages on December 26, 2024.
Dr. Shriram Singh, a 58-year-old Indian academic and entrepreneur, was shot and killed in Atlanta, Georgia. His family suspects business rivalry may be behind the murder. Dr. Singh, a native of Gonda, India, had been living in the US for nearly four decades and had built a successful business empire. His family is seeking justice and security after his tragic death.
Singh's humility and grounded nature were highlighted in a heartfelt social media memoir by Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Social Welfare (Independent Charge) Asim Arun.
He won two terms in office, which was a stunning feat for a leader who used his silence as the most vocal weapon to change the economy and the lives of a billion people, asserts Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances