By Jose Kalathil
New Delhi, April 7, 2020: Christians in Delhi have requested the state government to make suitable arrangements in the cremation grounds for offering prayers and last rites for the community. They said once such proper facilities are made in these grounds more and more Christians would be willing to cremate their loved ones instead of burying them.
In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on behalf of the Christian community advocate Manoj V George said, “This is to request you to make suitable arrangements in the cremation grounds for offering prayers and last rites for Christians. Once such proper facilities are constructed in these cremation grounds more and more Christians would be willing to do cremation instead of burial for their loved ones.”
“I am writing this letter on behalf of the Christian community in Delhi due to great public importance and being a person who had occasions to deal with many issues of many Christians in the city. As you would be aware that there is a great difficulty to find burial places in Delhi for Christians due to the paucity of land in our city, the existing cemeteries are almost full and it has become very difficult to find places for burial for Christians in the state of Delhi in the event of a death,” the letter said.
“Considering the many Christian congregations have reconciled to this fact and have started cremating the dead bodies even though it is not normal according to their faith practices. Thus alternate modes of body disposal have been initiated these days,” the letter added.
He also mentioned some recent cases including the last rites of Ms Lily Thomas, Advocate of Supreme Court, and Kurian A, a leading architect. They all were cremated in Delhi as there was no immediate availability of burial spaces in the capital.
Years ago, even some Christians like Joachim Alva, Violet Xavier and Annie Alexander were also cremated as per their wish. He said that there was a lack of facilities for cremation as per rites and rituals of Christian faith and practices in the cremation grounds. Cremation even though it is not an accepted practice according to rites and rituals of Christian groups and denominations but has become the need of the hour. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic season we may be faced with a situation where the number of dead bodies to lay to rest may increase.
The cremation facilities available in the state are providing facilities for only the Hindu community according to their faiths and practices. The Christian community is also open for cremation as a mode of disposal of bodies during recent times. So, he requested the government to make suitable arrangements in the cremation grounds for offering prayers and last rites for the Christian community.
“Even though it is a permanent need of the state, it would be ideal if a place in the cremation ground is designated for prayers before the cremation of non-Hindus where the last rites and prayers can be offered before the internment,” the letter concluded.