NEW DELHI: Former President K R Narayanan's wife Usha, who carved a niche for herself as a champion of social and women's issues, died today in a city hospital after ailing for sometime.

Usha, 86, the only person of foreign origin to have become the country's First Lady, breathed her last at 5.30 pm at the Gangaram Hospital in west Delhi. She had been rushed to the hospital on December 31 for blood transfusion due to a severe drop in hemoglobin level. K R Narayanan served as President from July 25, 1997 to July 24, 2002.

He died on November 9, 2005. A prolific writer, Usha was fiercely independent and always believed that women can be the determining force in taking sustainable development to a new high. Born as Ma Tint Tint in 1923 in Burma, now Myanmar, she adopted the name

Usha and became an Indian citizen after marrying Narayanan on June 8, 1951. Their marriage needed a special clearance from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru because Narayanan was in the Indian Foreign Service and Usha was a foreigner.

Usha worked with the All India Radio for many years, translating and broadcasting news and also moderating discussions in its external services. Paying tributes to her, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described her as an "indomitable fighter" for the rights and empowerment of women.

He said Usha Narayanan will be remembered for her profound pronouncements on gender equality. "She was one of the outstanding first ladies of our Republic".

"In her unfortunate passing away, the country has lost one of the cultivated, cultured and civilized persons whose commitment to Indian values shared her personality, universal outlook and identity," he said.