Two years after activist’s plea to ban honorifics, Kerala govt makes ‘bahumanapetta’ mandatory in replies

Thiruvananthapuram: Two years after Palakkad-based human rights activist Boban Mattumantha petitioned the Kerala government to ban the use of the word bahumanapetta (Malayalam for “honourable”) in official correspondence, the State has taken the opposite route. A new circular issued by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department has now instructed government officials to prefix the word before the names of the chief minister and ministers in replies to public petitions.

The order, dated August 30, directs all secretariat departments, district collectors, office heads and the office of ministers to follow the instructions. The move has surprised many at a time when several governments worldwide are discarding formal honorifics in favour of simpler, more egalitarian communication.

The activist’s campaign
Boban Mattumantha first raised the issue in July 2023 in a letter to then chief secretary Dr V Venu. “Are ministers and high-ranking officers honourable people, worthy of respect?” he wrote, describing bahumanapetta as an “ugly habit” that divides citizens into the “honourable” and the “dishonourable”. He called the word “undemocratic” and a “remnant of monarchy”.

But in January this year, Boban received a reply from the General Administration (Protocol) Department rejecting his plea. “Words that denote respect are used to address the rank of a person and not the individual… such qualifications are part of basic courtesy in a democracy,” it said.

File notings reveal that officials had debated the issue for months. Additional secretary and state protocol officer Sunil Kumar B argued that while the government had never mandated the word, such honorifics signified “respect and culture” and should not be banned.

Chief secretary Venu, however, disagreed. “The issue is not about how a person should be addressed. It is about the use of the word in official correspondence, notices and foundation stones,” he wrote, sending the file back for reconsideration.

The Law Department later noted that there was no legal bar on making bahumanapetta mandatory for important positions. “For other officers and citizens, the traditional way of addressing shree/shreeman/shreemathy can be used,” law secretary Sanal Kumar added.

Finally, in January 2025, the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department (P&ARD) dismissed Boban’s contention. “It does not become undemocratic just because the word is used,” the joint secretary said, citing examples of schools using the honorific for former teachers. The P&ARD’s view effectively clinched the debate, paving the way for the August circular.

Beyond ‘bahumanapetta’
Mattumantha has campaigned against what he calls “slave speak” in government language. He has sought the removal of salutations like ‘sir’, ‘madam’ and ‘respected’, as well as valedictions such as ‘yours faithfully’ and ‘yours sincerely’. He has also objected to the Malayalam word apeksha (petition), arguing that it sounds like begging.

His efforts have had some impact. In March, the government directed offices to drop the phrase thazhmayayi apekshikkunnu (“requesting with my head bent low”) from all application forms. Several panchayats have since renamed apeksha forms as avakasha pathrika (rights forms).

“Social security pension, housing or medical aid are not favours,” Boban told Onmanorama in an earlier interview. “They are rights. People should feel they are demanding their rights, not pleading for them.”

With the latest circular, however, the government has reaffirmed the use of bahumanapetta in official communication, reflecting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s stance, as the Administrative Reforms Department functions under him. The decision has sparked debate on social media, with many questioning whether such honorifics have a place in modern governance. For Mattumantha, the fight against colonial and feudal echoes in official language continues, but for now, the government has chosen tradition over reform.