Thank you & doodbye, Dr Sahab: Former PM cremated on a bitterly Cold, gloomy day, amid chilly vibes over memorial row | India News

NEW DELHI: In life, he always seemed, rather charmingly, a little out of place when surrounded by the trappings of high office. Some, therefore, may have found it slightly ironic that the last journey of Manmohan Singh, who had once told his security official that he preferred a Maruti hatchback to a sleek BMW, was choreographed as per the ceremonial demands of a state funeral. But state funerals are mandated for ex-PMs.
But even ex-PMs are a matter of politics. The state funeral happened with Congress and BJP still locked in a bad-tempered debate over a memorial site. Singh, whose baptism in politics was pretty rough and got rougher during his second stint as PM, wouldn’t probably have been too surprised at this, had he had an inkling.

Under a grey sky on a wintry morning, the cortege left the AICC office for the cremation site, with heavy bandobast all the way. This being a state funeral, armed forces had their part to play. There was a military band, and ceremonial marching. The CDS and the three service chiefs were present.
At the AICC office, where it all began on Saturday, Congress members gathered in force to bid goodbye to one of the party’s most consequential PMs. Singh’s family members, wife Gursharan Kaur and daughters Upinder, Daman and Amrit were received by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present, along with party CMs, brass and workers.
The cortege left for Delhi’s oldest and largest crematorium, Nigambodh Ghat, after the singing of the national anthem at the AICC office. The pace was, as it always is on such occasions, stately, keeping in mind mourners walking alongside. There was a profusion of flowers. Some mourners were silent, others respectfully vocal. The latter joining in with the chanting of two, oft-heard memorialising slogans reserved for notable, departed politicians: “Amar rahe” and “Jab tak suraj, chand rahega, tab tak tera naam rahega”. Congress was front and centre at Nigambodh, as was to be expected.
All dignified, but no BJP-Cong interaction at cremation site
Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, party chief ministers Siddaramaiah, Revanth Reddy and Sukhwinder Sukhu, and other senior functionaries were at the gate of Nigambodh Ghat when the casket, draped in the Tricolour, was taken in. Laying of wreaths began once the casket was put on a raised platform.
The long list of dignitaries present included, aside from Singh’s family members, PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, the three Gandhis, Rajnath Singh, other NDA govt members, presiding officers of the LS and RS, Congress functionaries, Delhi CM and LG, and armed forces chiefs. Foreign countries were represented by Bhutan’s king and a Mauritius minister.
There was no noticeable interaction between BJP and Congress functionaries. But obviously unlike on X, where Saturday morning saw another bout between the parties, it was all dignified.
The last rites began with Sikh priests reciting verses from Gurbani. Singh’s daughter, historian Upinder Singh, lit the pyre, other family members beside her.
Not too long after, the state funeral was over. But politics, of course, wasn’t. A slogan raised from the crowd – ‘MMS ko Bharat Ratna do’ – was a reminder, if anyone needed reminding.