Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh's mortal remains were cremated with full state honours at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday in the presence of top leaders and foreign dignitaries including President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
Manmohan Singh's eldest daughter Upinder Singh lit the funeral pyre amid the chanting of religious hymns. Sikh priests and Singh's family members recited verses from Gurbani before his last rites.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were among the top leaders who paid their last tributes to the former prime minister at the crematorium.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the three services chiefs also paid their last respects to Singh.
Draped in the Tricolour, the flower-bedecked casket was placed at a raised platform, where leaders cutting across party lines laid wreaths on Singh's mortal remains.
King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful, were among the foreign dignitaries to pay tributes to Singh.
Mauritius has on Saturday announced that its national flag will fly at half-mast at all government offices and institutions till sunset as a mark of respect to Singh.
India's relations with several key countries, including Bhutan and Mauritius, saw a significant upswing during Singh's prime ministership.
A special prayer ceremony for Manmohan Singh, led by the King of Bhutan was held at a Buddhist monastery in Thimphu on Friday. The prayer was attended by Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Indian ambassador Sudhakar Dalela, several members of the Royal family and senior officials of the Bhutanese government.
As a mark of respect to Singh, Bhutan's national flag was flown at half-mast across the country and at its embassies, and consulates abroad, according to the Royal Bhutan government.
Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer, the charge d'affaires of the Palestine embassy in India, paid tribute to Singh and recounted the support he has given to Palestine.
"We had good relations with him (Singh). He met our president several times during his tenure. He also provided land for establishing the Palestinian embassy in Delhi, gave support to build the embassy, and also inaugurated it in 2012," Jazer said.
The final journey of Singh began from the AICC headquarters on Saturday morning after Congress leaders paid homage to their departed leader.
The flower-bedecked vehicle carrying the mortal remains of Singh left the Congress headquarters in a procession amid chants of "Manmohan Singh amar rahe".
A large number of Congress workers and leaders along with hundreds of Singh's well-wishers walked along as "Jab tak suraj chand rahega, tab tak tera naam rahega" slogans rent the air.
Former Congress chief and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also accompanied the procession alongside Singh's relatives.
Singh's mortal remains were taken to the AICC headquarters from his residence on 3, Motilal Nehru Road a little before 9 AM.
The mortal remains were kept inside the AICC headquarters for about an hour, with several top leaders of the Congress, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, paying their last respects, among others.
Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur and one of his daughters also laid a wreath on his body and paid their last respects.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and several ex-Union ministers were among those who paid tributes to the former PM.
Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu were also there.
Meanwhile, the funeral preparations were given final touches at the Nigambodh Ghat where the last rites of former the prime minister would be performed at 11.45 am with full state honours.
In light of the state funeral, traffic officials have issued advisory implementing key diversions and restrictions in place from 7 am to 3 pm across the city.
Singh passed away on Thursday night at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences due to age-related medical complications. He was 92.
Considered the architect of India's economic reforms, Singh served as the prime minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014.
A seven-day national mourning is being observed throughout the country as a mark of respect to the former prime minister during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast across the nation, the Union Home Ministry has announced.
(With inputs from PTI)
