Former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has died aged 93.
His death was announced on Thursday following a prolonged illness, which he was being treated for at the AIIMS hospital in Delhi.
Mr Vajpayee, a Hindu nationalist, served as prime minister three separate times between 1996 and 2004.
In 1998, he ordered nuclear weapons tests which stoked fears of an atomic war with rival Pakistan. However, he later launched a ground-breaking peace process with Islamabad.
He was a moderate leader who oversaw India's growth into a swaggering regional economic power.
Mr Vajpayee's supporters saw him as a skilled politician, while critics accused him and his party of stoking public fears of India's large Muslim minority.
However, both sides agreed he was a rare politician in that he was untainted by corruption scandals.
India’s current Prime Minister Narendra Modi today led tributes to Mr Vajpayee, describing his death as a “personal and irreplaceable loss”.
He said: “His passing away marks the end of an era. He lived for the nation and served it assiduously for decades.
“My thoughts are with his family, BJP Karyakartas and millions of admirers in this hour of sadness.”
Mr Vajpayee was also a successful poet and published a number of books, with many poems inspired by his love of nature.
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