The former politician was hospitalized on Thursday after his health began to decline.

Manmohan Singh, India’s first Sikh prime minister and the mastermind behind the economic reforms that paved the way for the country’s rise as a global economic powerhouse, has passed away at the age of 92. According to a hospital statement, his death was attributed to “age-related medical conditions.”

In response to his passing, the government declared seven days of mourning and announced a state funeral. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Singh, stating: “India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders.”

Singh, often referred to as India’s “reluctant prime minister” due to his reserved nature and preference for working behind the scenes, was an unexpected choice to lead the world’s largest democracy. However, when Congress leader Sonia Gandhi led her party to an unexpected victory in 2004, she turned to Singh to become the prime minister.

Famous for his signature sky-blue turbans and simple white kurta pyjamas, Singh made history as India’s first non-Hindu prime minister. He served two full terms, an impressive feat in India’s tumultuous political environment, and was credited with driving the country’s rapid economic growth, which lifted millions of Indians out of poverty.

Born in 1932 in Gah, a village now located in Pakistan, Singh’s early life was marked by hardship. He walked long distances to attend school, and when his family was displaced during the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, they migrated to Amritsar, a city sacred to Sikhs in India.

From a large family of ten siblings, Singh was determined to pursue education. He would often study by streetlight at night to escape the noise in his crowded home. His brother, Surjit Singh, recalled that their father always believed Manmohan would become India’s prime minister because of his constant reading.

Singh’s hard work bore fruit when he won scholarships to study economics at Cambridge and later at Oxford, where he earned a doctorate. His career in government began when he was appointed head of India’s central bank. He also worked for the International Monetary Fund.

In 1991, India faced an economic crisis, and the country was on the brink of default. Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao appointed Singh as his finance minister. Singh was instrumental in the country’s economic transformation, moving away from its Soviet-style economic planning model. Drawing inspiration from Victor Hugo, he famously said, “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come,” referring to India’s rise as an economic power.

Singh dismantled the “license raj,” a system that heavily regulated industrial production and trade, devalued the rupee to boost exports, opened key sectors to private and foreign investment, and slashed taxes. These measures ushered in a period of rapid economic growth, earning him the title of India’s economic “liberator.”

During his first term as prime minister, Singh oversaw an economy that grew by more than 8%. He also championed landmark initiatives, such as the Indo-US civil nuclear deal that ended India’s nuclear isolation, and launched ambitious social welfare programs. However, his second term was overshadowed by a series of massive corruption scandals, which eroded public trust in his government.

Despite being widely regarded as personally incorruptible, Singh faced accusations of lacking the authority to control his coalition partners. His former adviser, Sanjaya Baru, wrote a memoir in which he claimed that Singh appeared to maintain high ethical standards in public life but did not impose those same standards on others. Singh’s apparent deference to Sonia Gandhi led to rumors that he was her “puppet.”

Survived by his wife, Gursharan Kaur, and their three daughters, Singh famously described politics as “the art of the possible.” Toward the end of his second term, he remarked, “History will be kinder to me than the media.”