Why Jayalalithaa will be buried not cremated

December 06, 2016 16:18

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's mortal remains will be buried, not cremated as per Hindu Brahmin ritual on Marina Beach.

Unlike other Dravidian leaders, Jayalalithaa was a believer who used to pray regularly and be seen with an Iyengar Namam on her forehead. Still, why did the state government and the Sasikala family decide to bury her instead of a cremation an obvious ritual for Iyengars.

A senior government secretary, who was part of the funeral preparations of the late chief minister, told the Indian Express: "She was not an Iyengar for us. She was beyond any caste or religious identity. Even most of all the Dravidian leaders, including Periyar, Anna Durai and MGR, were all buried and we do not have a precedent of consigning their body to flames even after death. So, we bury them with sandalwood and rose water."

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