7-day national mourning to be declared in tribute to former PM Manmohan Singh

A seven-day national mourning will be announced by the central government in honour of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who died on Thursday night at the age of 92, sources said.

All government programs scheduled for Friday will be cancelled, the sources added. The decision on the mourning is likely to be announced after a Cabinet meeting scheduled for 11 am. All programs of the Congress party, including the Foundation Day celebrations, have also been cancelled for the next seven days as a mark of respect, party General Secretary KC Venugopal said.

Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms and two-time Prime Minister, died on Thursday night in Delhi at the age of 92. He was admitted to the AIIMS after the Congress leader fainted at home. An AIIMS bulletin said “he was treated for age related medical conditions and had sudden loss of consciousness at home” on December 26.

“Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to medical emergency at AIIMS Delhi at 8.06 pm. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9.51 pm,” said the bulletin.

Singh, who was the finance minister under then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, was the architect and brainchild of the economic reforms in 1991 that pulled India from the brink of bankruptcy and ushered in an era of economic liberalisation. These reforms are widely believed to have changed the course of India’s economic trajectory.

Singh passed away as the Congress party concluded its Congress Working Committee meeting in Belagavi, Karnataka, where all top party leaders were present. The leaders were rushed to Delhi as soon as Singh’s death was confirmed.