Manmohan Singh, who served as India's Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, has passed away.

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the first person of India's minority Sikh faith to hold that office, passed away in New Delhi on Thursday at the age of 92. A renowned economist, Singh was regarded as the father of economic reforms in India but was perceived as a weak leader by many, including some members of his own party, the Indian National Congress.

"India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji," Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. "Rising from humble origins, he became a respected economist. As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people's lives."

Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, but political commentators believe his most significant impact came during his tenure as Finance Minister in the early 1990s. His policies during that time set India on the path toward economic liberalization and globalization.

"Wise, thoughtful, and scrupulously honest" is how former U.S. President Barack Obama described Singh in his memoir, *A Promised Land*.

Singh was born on September 26, 1932, in a village called Gah, now in Pakistan. His family migrated east when Great Britain partitioned the subcontinent in 1947, creating independent India and the Muslim-majority nation of Pakistan. This partition triggered mass migration and sectarian violence that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, including Singh's grandfather.

An Oxford-educated economist, Singh drafted one of the most radical budgets in India's history in 1991, opening the country to the free market. "Let the whole world hear it loud and clear. India is now wide awake," Singh proclaimed during his budget speech.

"The budget declaration was a shocker because it almost turned on its head most of what was the received economic wisdom of the day," says Rajesh Chakrabarti, a finance and public policy expert. 

Until 1991, India had been a socialist, public sector-dominated, and import-restricted economy. When Singh became Finance Minister, the situation was dire; India was facing a severe balance of payments crisis. "We were importing far more than we were exporting, and our foreign exchange reserves had reached a low point," explains Chakrabarti. "India had to physically ship out gold to London banks just to secure money for its economy."

Singh's landmark budget opened India's economy to foreign direct investment, reduced import duties, and abolished the Permit Raj, a complex system of regulations that discouraged private investment.

In 2004, Singh was once again in the spotlight when Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born leader of the Congress party, named him Prime Minister after she declined the position following the party's significant electoral victory. However, critics labeled him as the Gandhis' "puppet," mocking his soft-spoken demeanor and suggesting he lacked oratory skills. 

"Humility was his strength and, at some level, his weakness, because he could not play to the gallery," says Rasheed Kidwai, author of a book on the Congress party. Nonetheless, he steered India through various international and domestic crises. Kidwai notes, "When the world economy faltered in 2008, India stood firm." During Singh's tenure, there was no confrontation with challenging neighbors like Pakistan and China, despite a deadly 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai carried out by Pakistani militants.

Kidwai emphasizes Singh's success in foreign policy, stating, "He was not one-dimensional. He had effective relations and functional ties with Iran, and at the same time, he was highly welcomed in Saudi Arabia."

Under Singh's leadership, India developed closer ties with the U.S. on multiple fronts, notably with a nuclear deal that lifted a decades-long ban on nuclear trade. His other achievements included accelerating economic growth and launching a social welfare program that guaranteed employment in rural areas.

However, his second term was marred by corruption scandals, culminating in the worst electoral defeat for the Congress party in the 2014 national elections. Singh chose not to run again in those elections, which were dominated by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. He was later absolved of any wrongdoing in the corruption cases.

After leaving office, Singh continued to live in Delhi with his family. He is survived by his wife, Gursharan Kaur, a historian, and their three daughters. 

Chakrabarti describes Singh as one of India's most graceful prime ministers: "I don't think even his worst critics will ever have anything but respect for the man." 

"My life and tenure in public office are an open book," Singh remarked in his farewell speech in 2014, wearing his signature light-blue Sikh turban. "Serving this nation has been my privilege. There is nothing more that I could ask for."