Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not just a politician but was a true gentlemen and a charismatic leader. As a Prime Minister he was soft-heartened but his decisions for his country were very decisive and tough towards the enemy.
Former PM Vajpayee died in AIIMS after a nine-week long battle at 93. After he suffered a stroke in 2009, that weakened his cognitive abilities, he developed dementia. After his death, the mortal remains were bought home and the cremation was decided at Smriti Sthal, where he will be given a state funeral.
What is a State Funeral?
It is a public funeral procession, observing the strict rules of protocol held to honour current and former presidents, prime ministers, union ministers and state chief ministers. Generally the state funeral include religious ceremonies as well as elements of military traditions.
What happens during a State Funeral?
- The national flag is flown at half mast. The decision depends only upon the President of India and he decides the period for which the flag is flown half mast.
- A state or national mourning is officially declared and a public holiday is also declared.
- The deceased person’s body is wrapped in a national flag.
- He/She is honored with a gun salute when being burried or cremated.
Personalities who were accorded state funeral
Many Prime Ministers have been accorded the state funeral:
- Jawaharlal Nehru
- Lal Bahadur Shastri
- Indira Gandhi
- Rajiv Gandhi
- Morarji Desai
- Chandra Shekhar Singh
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Former Chief Ministers who were given state funeral:
- Jyoti Basu
- E.K Mawlong
Personalities who received a state funeral who were not current or former Presidents, Prime Ministers or Union Ministers:
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Mother Teresa
- APJ Abdul Kalam
- J Jayalalithaa
- M Karunanidhi
- Y.V Chandrachud
- Gangubai Hangal
- Bhimsen Joshi
- Bal Thackrey
- Sarabjeet Singh
- Arjan Singh
- Shashi Kapoor
- Sridevi
- Dada J.P Vaswani