By Matters India Reporter
Guwhati, April 17, 2020: Head of the Catholic Church in northeastern India on April 17 termed as “unchristian” a row over the last rites of a doctor, the first Covid-19 victim in Meghalaya state.
Doctor John L Sailo Ryntathiang, a Presbyterian Christian, was buried on April 16, a day after his death in Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state.
The 69-year-old physician was the managing director of Shillong-based Bethany Hospital.
His last rites were delayed because of opposition from local people who feared the burial would spread the coronavirus diseases
Meghalaya Health Minister AL Hek said the burial took place at the graveyard of Riatsamthiah Presbyterian Church in Shillong with adherence to all safety protocols. “It went off smoothly,” he said.
Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati, president of the North East Council of Catholic Bishops, mourned the death of the cheerful and God fearing philanthropist physician.
“I am sorry for late Doctor Sailo. We do not know how he got infected, from a patient, from his son-in-law or some other way,” the archbishop told Matters India on April 17.
The Catholic prelate recalled that the deceased had spent his life curing and comforting people. “From pictures of him going round he looked to be cheerful and God fearing. Yet the treatment meted out to him was unchristian,” Archbishop Moolachira bemoaned.
The prelate said that the people initially did not allow even cremation of the doctor’s mortal remains.
He pointed out that some people in northeastern India had opposed Cardinal Oswald Gracias’ suggestion to Catholics of Bombay archdiocese that Covid-19 victims could be cremated. The northeast Christians saw the suggestion as an invitation to “ghar vapasi” (returning to Hindu rituals).
“It was clarified that (the cardinal’s) circular was only for his archdiocese,” Archbishop Moolachira explained and added that people need to be educated still. “We should be careful about the virus but be human,” he added.
Archbishop Moolachira commended pastors and the doctor’s friends who helped in the burial. “May Grant him eternal rest,” he concluded.
According to reports from Shillong, the administration’s first plan was to cremate the body at the electric crematorium at Jhalupara. But that couldn’t happen as hundreds of residents came out to the streets opposing the move and police personnel had to be deployed to manage the situation. Their leaders said the crematorium was not equipped to handle “corpses with novel coronavirus.”
Since the deceased had a farm-house in Nongpoh, around 50 km north of Shillong, the administration considered burying the body there.
But that move had to be shelved after the local Dorbar Shnong, a Khasi institution comprising local residents, decided not to allow the burial there as he was not a permanent resident.
As news of the opposition spread, some villages and churches came forward and agreed to allow the last rites.
An offer for burying the doctor at the local cemetery came from Mawryngkneng, a village near Shillong, out of gratitude for his service to the villagers. The Church of North India, Catholic and Presbyterian denominations also made a similar offer.
The body was finally interred at the Riatsamthiah Presbyterian Church cemetery in Shillong’s Lawmali area, about 3 km from the hospital where the doctor died.
Shillong Municipal Board workers, who were wrapped in personal protective equipment, carried the casket from the ambulance to the graveyard. An earthmover was used for covering the grave and the entombed casket.
Priests and elders of the Presbyterian Church conducted the funeral service in presence of officials of the health department, police department and the district administration.
The officials and priests maintained social distancing and adhering to guidelines on disposal of bodies.
Six of the doctor’s relatives and associates had tested positive hours after he died. They have been quarantined in the deceased’s hospital after the local legislator intervened as the hospital attendants refused to admit them.
As on April 17, Meghalaya, a Christian majority state, registered 9 positive cases. The doctor was the only victim so far.