THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former diplomat K P S Menon (Junior) who passed away at his residence here at Kowdiar following age-related ailments on Saturday night, was cremated on Sunday. He was 90.
Menon, who is survived by wife Lalithambika Menon, sons Sivarama Menon, Sivasankara Menon and Sidhartha Menon and daughters-in-law Pratibha and Anjana, had served as the ambassador to countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Japan, and China.
Former foreign secretary Sivasankar Menon is his nephew. Son of K P S Menon (senior), the first foreign secretary of independent India, K P S Menon (junior) was a 1951-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer. His mother Palat Sarawathy Amma is the daughter of Sir C Sankaran Nair, the only Keralite to become the president of the Indian National Congress.
Mourning the death of Menon, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Menon was a very efficient diplomat who had made an enormous contribution towards earning global acceptance for India’s foreign policy.
“He strived to make India’s foreign policy to be accepted widely and made it popular. His efforts to bring the popularity of India at international venues was commendable,” Vijayan said.
The cremation of Menon took place at Santhikavadam here on Sunday. Many personalities including Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala paid their homage at Menon’s residence on Sunday morning.