Fact Check: Day of national mourning was not announced after Sridevi's death
After the death of the country's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and other Army personnel, a post is being widely shared on social media
By Tejal Sinha Published on 15 Dec 2021 9:49 AM IST
Hyderabad: After the death of the country's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and other Army personnel, a post is being widely shared on social media which claimed that after the unfortunate demise of Bollywood actress Sridevi a day of national mourning was declared. However, the same was not done after the tragic demise of Bipin Rawat and other soldiers.
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Fact Check
The claim is false.
NewsMeter tried to find out if a day of national mourning was declared after Sridevi's death. We found no news reports to support the claim.
However, according to a BBC Hindi report, Sridevi was wrapped in Tricolour and was given state honours during her funeral procession.
The report stated, "One thing that caught the attention of many people was that Sridevi was wrapped in the Indian flag as she was given state honours. State honour means that all the arrangements were made by the state government... Apart from wrapping the body in the Tricolour, she was also given a gun salute."
According to a report published by Lallantop titled "What is national mourning?" a public holiday, national mourning, and funeral with state honours are different things.
After the demise of Sridevi, her last rites were performed with state honours where her body was wrapped with the Tricolour. There was neither a public holiday nor national mourning.
We then found a report published on the website of News Nation about the rules related to national mourning. According to the report, "During national mourning, the national flag is flown at half-mast at all buildings across the country where it is flown regularly. The last rites are performed with state honours. Government offices and colleges (at the decision of the government) are kept closed during national mourning. Government functions and small and big festivals are cancelled. The tunes of mourning are played on Doordarshan and the All India Radio."
The team also found a report published by the Hindustan Times published on 9 December, 2021, titled "General Bipin Rawat's death: Uttarakhand declares 3-day state mourning".
"Hours after India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat met his tragic end in a helicopter crash, the Uttarakhand government declared a three-day state mourning to pay tributes to his passing legacy. Describing the four-star general's sudden death as an "irreparable loss" to the nation, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that this state will always be proud of its son," read the report by Hindustan Times.
It is therefore evident that the claim made through the viral post is false.
No national mourning was announced after the demise of late actor Sridevi. It was only her final rites that were performed with state honour where her body was wrapped in the Indian flag. In order to pay tribute to Bipin Rawat after his demise in the tragic incident, the Uttarakhand government declared a three-day state mourning.
