A Monarchist Holiday

The successor of the last Maharaja of Travancore passed away recently, leaving behind a small political controversy.

The successor of the last Maharaja of Travancore passed away recently, leaving behind a small political controversy.

Ninety-one-year-old Utharadom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the successor of the last Maharaja of the princely state of Travancore, chairman of the trust running the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple and patron of many charitable institutions, passed away at Thiruvananthapuram recently, leaving behind a small political controversy. As a show of respect for the head of the royal family, the Kerala government declared Monday a local holiday. VT Balram, an MLA of the ruling Congress party, was the first among those who protested this decision. He termed it an ugly expression of subordination to the King, something a democratically elected government has no business doing.