Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday (26th) at the age of 92.
According to foreign media reports, Manmohan Singh was the first Sikh to become India's leader, serving as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014, with two consecutive terms being notably rare; he had been undergoing long-term treatment for illnesses related to old age.
AFP reported that Manmohan Singh lost consciousness at his home on Thursday and was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, but rescue efforts were unsuccessful.
Indian Prime Minister Modi posted on the social media platform X, describing Manmohan Singh as one of India's most outstanding leaders and expressing deep condolences on behalf of the Indian people for his passing.
Manmohan Singh was highly praised for leading India to unprecedented economic growth and helping hundreds of millions escape extreme poverty.
Born into a poor family in Pakistan, Manmohan Singh studied by candlelight and was admitted to the University of Cambridge, later entering the University of Oxford, earning a doctorate with a thesis on the role of exports and free trade in India's economy.
He was an outstanding economist, having served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and as a government advisor, with seemingly no intentions of entering politics before being suddenly appointed as Finance Minister in 1991, and becoming Prime Minister in 2004.