For activist Nagendra Jena, ‘Brahmin Shamsan’ on the signboard was odious in the 21st century. The burial ground is now 'Swarg Dwar' and open to all, but Dalits in the village are still not rushing to cremate their dead.
In 'Fire on the Ganges: Life among the Dead in Banaras', author Radhika Iyengar writes how no ‘upper-caste’ Hindu will be willing to perform the task of burning corpses, even if the said work has been ‘glorified’ for centuries as the only way of ‘providing moksha’.
In ‘To Hell and Back’, Barkha Dutt writes about how Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian pallbearers were the handymen tasked to repair the broken bits of our humanity.
Former BJP MLA set up Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal in 1996. It organises cremations for the poor & abandoned, and helped cremate 4,000 during second Covid wave.
In each of the 4 cases, which took place between September 2020 and January 2021, families allege they were under pressure from police to quickly cremate the bodies.
While some families do not have money to perform last rituals, others haven't been able to collect ashes as they are afraid to travel during the pandemic.
Haryana govt has put tree-felling in a list of activities permitted during the lockdown imposed to slow down the surging Covid-19 wave, which has been extended till 17 May.
In an interview with Anandabazar Patrika Shankar waxed eloquent about her many objections to the pallu not covering the bosom area of Gen Z women. She called them ‘women of the street’.
With an educated & skilled workforce, Tamil Nadu has a burgeoning industrial sector which has scored massive investments in automobiles, electronics, and even footwear.
The ‘idea’ Kejriwal's politics grew around was a no-holds-barred fight against corruption. That is the reason Modi govt has now tarred him and his entire party with the same paint.
The piece reads like a DR NAgraj article or a Manto short story. Officially all the dead are welcome to Swarg Dwar . Jens enters alone. No body stops him
The piece reads like a DR NAgraj article or a Manto short story. Officially all the dead are welcome to Swarg Dwar . Jens enters alone. No body stops him