The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, November 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

B.K. Nehru cremated
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 1
The mortal remains of eminent diplomat and administrator B.K. Nehru were consigned to the flames at the electric crematorium here amid the chanting of Vedic mantras.

Family members, relatives, friends and a large number of admirers of Mr Nehru, including former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka, Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, were present at the crematorium. Wreaths were placed on behalf of President K.R. Narayanan and the Governors and Chief Ministers of Haryana and Assam.

Several senior Congress leaders — including Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Natwar Singh, Mr Motilal Vora, Mr R.K. Dhawan and Mr M.L. Fotedar — paid their tributes. Senior BJP leader Sikander Bakht and Arun Nehru also paid their tributes. Among the mourners were Mr Nehru’s associates including Mr M.K. Rasgotra, Mr Romesh Bhandari, and Mr G. Parthasarthy.

Wreaths were laid on the body of Mr Nehru, who was a former president, and a member of The Tribune Trust, by Mr R.P. Bambah, a member of the Trust, Mr Hari Jaisingh, Editor of The Tribune group of newspapers and Mr R.N. Gupta, General Manager.

Among those present were several prominent persons from the world of art and the media including Ms Shovana Narayan, Mr Inder Malhotra and Mr Ajit Bhattacharjea.

Mr Baljit Malik, who worked with Mr Nehru in SPOKE (Society for the Preservation of Kasauli and its Environs) said that they had attended a meeting of the society together only five days back. “Mr Nehru took keen interest in preserving the environment of Kasauli where he spent most of his time in the past 10 years,” he added.

Admirers, friends pay homage to B.K. Nehru
Ravi S.Singh
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, November 1
The last journey of Mr B.K. Nehru, a noted civil servant and outstanding diplomat, started amidst a thick crowd of his admirers, friends and relatives.

There were a large number of misty eyes in the gathering with umpteen number of individuals recounting the departed soul’s warmth in social dealings, and his distinguished service as a civil servant.

Those present and who accompanied the funeral procession to the electric crematorium included a former Union Minister, Mr Arun Nehru, the Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Assembly, Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot, a former Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr M.L. Kampan, Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul (retd), and a former Governor of West Bengal, Mr Toni Dias. Earlier, several dignitaries from various walks of life came to the residence of Mr Nehru here in Sector 17 to pay their last tributes to him. The Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, was the first to arrive at the residence of Mr Nehru in the morning, followed by the President, Mr K.R. Naryananan. A former President, Mr R. Venkataraman, also visited the place.

Both Mr Narayanan, who was accompanied by his wife, and Mrs Sonia Gandhi, stayed at the residence of Mr Nehru for about 15 minutes.

From the state of Jammu and Kashmir,the Governor Mr G.C. Saxena, and former Union Ministers — Mr Saifuddin Soz and Mr M.L. Fotedar - visited the place and laid wreaths on the body of Mr Nehru. The Resident Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi laid the wreath on behalf of the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah.

Several leaders from Haryana, including Rao Dharmam Pal and Rao Daan Singh, both Congress MLAs, paid floral tributes. The Governor of Haryana, Babu Parmanand and the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, were represented by the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon, respectively. The Deputy Commissioner also laid a wreath on behalf of the district administration. Babu Parmanand was scheduled to personally visit the residence of Mr Nehru and condole the death to the bereaved family. According to the district administration, his visit was cancelled on account of ill health. The Governors of Gujarat and Assam and the Chief Ministers of the two states were represented by the states’ Resident Commissioners to offer floral tributes.

A former Union Minister, Mr Vasant Sathe and a former Director-General of Police, Punjab, Mr K.P.S. Gill were among those who paid their tributes to the great Indian.

Wreaths were also offered by several reputed organisations, including the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. Mrs Shakuntala Bhatia, wife of the late Mr Prem Bhatia, a former Editor-in-Chief of the Tribune Trust publications, visited the residence of Mr Nehru and offered a wreath on behalf of the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust. All family members of Mr Nehru arrived with the body from Kasauli in the morning, except for one of his granddaughters, Ms Malvika Nehru. She was on her way to the city from Singapore.

The entire family, like visitors, was in a state of shock. What brought some comfort to the visitors was Mrs Nehru’s effort to absorb the sense of bereavement with great dignity. She inquired about the well-being of the visitors. However, the sense of loss faced by her and the family was writ large on their faces. There were occasional burst of tears though.

Talking to this correspondent, Mrs Nehru inquired about the NCR edition of The Tribune and said that Mr Nehru could not read its issues on account of ill health. The district administration had organised a massive security bandobast keeping in view the arrival of the dignitaries. The IG and the SSP, Gurgaon, were present. The Chief Minister of Haryana is said to have instructed the Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Assembly and local MLA, Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot, to be present at the residence of Mr Nehru till the body was taken to the electric crematorium in Delhi.