Manmohan Singh, a key ally of the Gandhi family who transformed India’s economy from Soviet-style restrictions and became one of the nation’s longest-serving prime ministers, has died at the age of 92.

Reports from local media indicate that Singh was hospitalized at AIIMS Delhi on Thursday in critical condition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the country’s grief at the loss of one of India’s “most distinguished leaders” via a post on the social media platform X.

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Singh, a Sikh who studied economics at Oxford and Cambridge, is remarkable for being the only Indian to have held the roles of central bank governor, finance minister, and prime minister, and notably the first from a religious minority to achieve this.

From 1991 to 1996, he abolished quotas for state-owned enterprises, dismantled a complex permit system, and welcomed foreign investment, facilitating an economy that expanded sevenfold over two decades to become Asia’s third-largest.

Born in what is currently Pakistan, Singh, often recognized by his signature sky-blue turban and white tunic, was respected for his humble lifestyle amidst a backdrop of political controversies.

He led the world’s largest democracy for a decade as part of Sonia Gandhi’s Indian National Congress party.

Singh was born on September 26, 1932, to Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur in the village of Gah, then part of Punjab, which became part of Pakistan following independence from British rule 15 years later. In November 2008, he reflected on his early years in that desolate village, lacking doctors, schools, electricity, and clean drinking water.

The Value of Education

“As a child, I walked a long distance to school and studied by the dim light of a kerosene lamp,” Singh noted in April 2010.

“I attribute everything to education. It is my hope that every Indian child, both girls and boys, can experience the transformative power of education.”

Singh earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in economics from Panjab University, followed by an honors degree at St. John’s College, University of Cambridge in 1957.

He later obtained a doctorate from the University of Oxford’s Nuffield College in 1962.

By the time of the partition in 1947, Singh’s family had moved to Amritsar, located in India’s Punjab state and home to the Golden Temple, the most sacred site in Sikhism. Sikhs make up nearly 2% of India’s population.

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After starting his career in India’s finance ministry and later serving as governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1982 to 1985, Singh was appointed finance minister in Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s Congress administration in 1991.

Faced with rising oil prices that threatened India’s foreign-exchange reserves, Singh began dismantling investment barriers.

He cut import tariffs, allowed foreign companies to set up operations, and removed the necessity for government approval for new factories.

“Think Big”

A decade earlier, he had invoked Victor Hugo while addressing lawmakers during a budget speech, stating, “No force on earth can halt an idea whose time has come.”

Singh’s prime ministership began unexpectedly.

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Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of the assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, led Congress to victory in 2004. Concerned that her foreign ancestry might spark continuous protests from Hindu nationalists, she chose Singh to lead the government instead.

Remarkable Economic Growth

Under his leadership, India saw extraordinary economic growth, averaging 8.3% from 2004 to 2010, steering the nation through a global recession and strengthening relations with the US. Sonia Gandhi remained Congress president, managing the multiparty coalition, which led India Today magazine in May 2010 to describe as “a peculiar separation of powers.”

“Manmohan Singh was no ordinary prime minister,” noted Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former deputy chairman of the planning commission, in his book “Backstage,” recalling Singh’s management during the 2008 global financial crisis.

“He had vast experience with the international economy and had successfully navigated the 1991 crisis. Nevertheless, our situation was not a crisis explosion as witnessed in 1991; we were on a preventive course.”

Critiques and Challenges

On the other hand, Singh faced severe criticism. Lal Krishna Advani, a prominent figure in the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, termed him “the weakest prime minister” in history.

The reserved Singh, often seen as a technocrat within a politically potent elite, lost the only parliamentary election he contested in 1999.

After recovering from heart surgery in January 2009, Singh successfully piloted Congress to its most significant electoral win in 20 years.

However, he frustrated investors with minimal efforts to push forward his market-liberalizing policies from the 1990s, and allegations of corruption against a cabinet member ignited public protests in 2011, ultimately leading to Modi’s BJP gaining control of parliament.

“I do not subscribe to the idea of legacy — it relies on the views of those who recount it and the timing,” Singh said in a December 2011 interview with Bloomberg News.

“In 1991, when I initiated economic liberalization, the opposition was clamoring for the finance minister’s impeachment.”

Before the 2014 elections, Singh staunchly defended his record, stating he oversaw the economy’s fastest-ever growth, which lifted 138 million individuals out of poverty.

“There might be fluctuations in the journey, but the path is one I laid down,” he declared in the 2011 interview. “I firmly believe it is the only way to alleviate the chronic poverty faced by millions.”

Singh is survived by his wife, Gursharan Kaur, and their three daughters: Upinder, Daman, and Amrit.

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