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| Kishtwar shame: West Bengal resident denied dignified burial | | People slam religious heads for their criminal silence | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Kishtwar, Apr 29: Amid COVID-19 outbreak, a 53 year old West Bengal resident, who died two days ago in Kishtwar, was denied a burial here after some people objected saying that the graveyard is not meant for outsiders.
As per the details available with Early Times, the 53 year old Allah u Din, a resident of Kolkata in West Bengal was working as Mason and had arrived in Kishtwar in February— weeks well before the lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had no presentable history or symptoms of COVID 19, yet some “extra cautious” neighbours made it seem that he was a suspect. He was brought dead to the hospital— inspite of the fact that he wasn't line listed, and had stayed here since January or according to some accounts early February.
His corpse was sampled for virus for Command Hospital Udhampur which turned out to be negative.
The locals alleged that those who objected to his burial were involved in “land grabbing and had encroached” the part of the graveyard reserved for the outsiders. “They often create rucks as and when the people tried to bury in that part of the graveyard.”
Following the denial the administration buried the deceased at an isolated place in the outskirts of Kishtwar town.
The officials used JCB machine to dig the grave and surprisingly even no one among the religious heads including chief clergy turned up to offer Nimaz e Jinazah of the deceased poor labourer which was later offered by the Tourism Department Employee Farooq Ahmed Kandoo.
The incident of denial of dignified burial and not offering Nimaz e Jinazah by the religious heads led to massive outrage among the people of Kishtwar who demanded the body should be exhumed and be given a dignified burial at a local graveyard.
“Disgraceful is too polite a word— to describe the unceremonious, inhuman and irreligious burial of a non-local Mason from West Bengal yesterday here in Kishtwar” the local youth told Early Times while condemning the incident.
The locals particularly the youth also slammed the local Auqaf for not intervening to ensure dignified burial of the non-local Mason as the land is controlled by Auqaf and it’s a Wakf property.
The visiting officials were shocked— in haste, but thoughtlessly they went to a defacto religious head and not the dejure, who, after listening to the facts, opined for the deceased person's transport somewhere and he didn't say where perhaps West Bengal.
“The deceased wasn't even given the last bath and not even draped in a shroud. He now lies, buried in a nallah, a naked place that is not even clothed with brushwood— a place meant for city garbage,” said a youth
“We strongly believe, the community hasn't sensitised itself for any ensuing disaster and its fallout. This infamous event has raised some glaring questions. This kind of treatment, or worse, could be accorded to any of us. Don't be selfassured, nevertheless think” said an angry youth.
He questioned the heads who have done this act.
“This is highly condemnable— it has shamed all of us— this incident makes our heads hang in shame—“ said Shakir Saddiqui, political and social Activist.
Saddiqui said that the deceased had a right to find a dignified place for burial at a local graveyard and offered apology to the family members of the deceased for this inhuman treatment to the departed soul.
Following massive outrage, Imam Jamia Masjid Kishtwar Farooq Ahmed Kichloo in a damage control exercise issued televised statement appealing people to be calm. He assured the outrageous people that they will approach the administration for exhuming the dead body for fresh burial which according to the local head Imam is within the ambit of the religious as Islam permitted the shifting of the dead body from one grave to another grave. But even though the Imam released its statement— the people continue to vent their anger.
When DC Kishtwar Rajinder Singh Tara was contacted for his comment, he said that he felt disheartened after some people raised objection over the burial. He added that he did not want to create any scene during ongoing testing time and instead ordered for the burial at a state land— which was held under the supervision of Naib Tehsildar Kishtwar Javed Ahmed Khanday. |
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