Described as a “reluctant king” during his first term as prime minister, the soft-spoken Manmohan Singh, who died on Thursday at the age of 92, was arguably one of India's most successful leaders.
Singh, the first Sikh to lead his nation, was prime minister from 2004 to 2014, serving a rare two terms. He was under care for age-related conditions.
He is credited with leading India to unprecedented economic growth and lifting hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty. He served a rare second term in office.
“India mourns the loss of one of its greatest leaders,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
He praised the achievements of the economist-turned-politician.
Born into a poor family in the part of India under British rule, now in Pakistan, Singh studied by candlelight to gain a place at the University of Cambridge, then went to Oxford, where he obtained a PhD with a thesis on the role of exports and free trade in the Indian economy.
He became a respected economist, then governor of the Central Bank of India and a government adviser, but he had no clear plans for a political career when he was suddenly chosen as finance minister in 1991.
During this term until 1996, Singh was the architect of reforms that saved India's economy from a severe balance of payments crisis and promoted deregulation and other measures that opened the island nation to the world.
Famously quoting Victor Hugo in his maiden budget speech, he said, “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come,” before adding, “The emergence of India as a major economic power in the world is one such idea.” “
Singh's ascension as prime minister in 2004 was even more unexpected.
He was asked to take up this position by Sonia Gandhi, who led the center-left Congress Party to an unexpected victory. She was of Italian descent and feared that her ancestors would be used by Hindu-nationalist opponents to attack the government if she were to lead the country.
Enjoying an unprecedented period of economic growth, the Singh government shared the spoils of the country's newfound wealth by introducing social welfare programs such as an employment program for the rural poor.
In 2008, his government also reached a landmark agreement that allowed peaceful nuclear trade with the United States for the first time in three decades, paving the way for a strong relationship between New Delhi and Washington.
However, his efforts to further open the Indian economy were often thwarted by political infighting within his own party and demands from coalition partners.
“History will be kinder to me”
And while he was widely respected by other world leaders, at home Singh always had to shake off the impression that Sonia Gandhi was the real power in the government.
The widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, whose family dominated Indian politics since independence from Britain in 1947, remained the leader of the Congress Party and often made key decisions.
Known for his simple lifestyle and reputation for honesty, Singh was not personally considered corrupt. But he came under attack for failing to crack down on members of his government when a series of scandals broke out during his second term, sparking mass protests.
In the final years of his launch, India's growth story, which he helped engineer, faltered as global economic turmoil and slow government decision-making dampened investment sentiment.
In 2012, his government found itself in a minority after the Congress Party's biggest ally left the coalition in protest against the entry of foreign supermarkets.
Two years later, the Congress was finally swept aside by the Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi, a strongman who promised to end economic stagnation, clean up graft and bring inclusive growth to the hinterland.
But at a press conference just months before he left office, Singh insisted he had done everything he could.
“I sincerely believe that history will be kinder to me than today's media or, for that matter, the opposition parties in parliament,” he said.
Singh left behind a wife and three daughters.
