Former PM Manmohan Singh cremated with full state honour

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who led India to the path of economic liberalisation in the 1990s, was cremated with full state honours here on Saturday in the presence of top dignitaries from the country and abroad.Singh’s funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter, Upinder Singh, at the Nigambodh Ghat as family members, friends and dignitaries bid farewell to the reformist former prime minister.President Droupadi Murmu, the supreme commander of the armed forces, led the nation in paying last respects to the departed leader.Priests and family members recited religious hymns from the holy Gurbani, while chants of “Satnam Waheguru” filled the air, as Singh was cremated according to Sikh rituals.Before Singh’s mortal remains were consigned to flames, the security forces gave a salute of three volleys of small arms and the buglers sounded the “Last Post” as a mark of honour for the former prime minister.At the Nigambodh Ghat, a sense of deep grief united the assembly featuring Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers and senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the foreign minister of Mauritius, Dhananjay Ramful, were among the foreign dignitaries who paid tributes to Singh, who served as the prime minister from 2004 to 2014.Singh (92) died on the night of December 26. PTI