Descrimiantion in according State honours

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government has showed discrimination in according State honours during funeral of distinguished persons in recent years.

Citing documents obtained under the Right to Information Act, the Human Rights Defence Forum general secretary D. B. Binu said that full State honours with gun salute and sounding of bugle was given to P. K. S. Raja, Zamorin of Kozhikode. However, the same was not accorded to Ramavarma Kochaniyan Thampuran, Rajah of Kochi (Bugle was sounded instead of gun salute while presenting police honours to the Rajah).  No State honours were given to Supreme Court judge K. S. Paripoornan.

Though the Government had issued orders specifying norms for the honours to be given at funerals in November 2010 and March 2011 and issued revised guidelines in November 2011, discriminative and illegal norms were being followed, Mr. Binu said.

Though M. V. Raghavan, Hridayakumari and P. C. Sanal Kumar (former Collector and writer) died on the same day, Sanalkumar was not accorded the same honours as the other two. When State honours were given to freedom fighter Parukutty Amma, freedom fighter Koothattukulam Mary was given only police honours with sounding of bugle.

Similarly, State honours were accorded at the funeral of M. V. Devan, but not to artists, Diwakara Marar, Mavelikkara S. R. Raju and Monkombu Sivasankara Pillai. Their funerals were with police honours and sounding of bugle. While P.  Ramadas, winner of J. C. Daniel Award, was accorded State honours, the same was denied to filmmaker Sasikumar.

When former members of Parliament A. Charles and P. R. Rajan and member of the Assembly K. Purushothaman were given State honours at their funeral, former members of Assembly P. P. Abdullakutty and P. K. Chandranandan did not get the same honours.