Some Muslims conduct a Hindu man’s funeral rites in Jaipur

Yash Goyal
Jaipur, April 13 

In an act of humanity and communal harmony, some Muslims cremated the body of a Hindu man in Jaipur after his family could not make it to the funeral because of the nationwide lockdown called due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rajendra Gujarati was a 20-year-old who died of throat cancer on Sunday evening. He came to the city three months ago for treatment and had since been living with an aunt who was a scrap collector in New Sanjay Nagar Colony.

When Gujarati died on breathed his last on Sunday evening, his relatives could not come to the funeral because of the lockdown.

Some local Muslims pooled in money for the funeral and carried the bier for 1 km to the cremation ground chanting “Ram Nam Satya Hai”---a chant used for Hindu funeral processions in many parts of the country.

Irfan Kureshi, a local who led the procession, said it was a question of humanity.

 “We have performed our neighbourly duty. It is not meant to oblige anyone,” Irfan said.

The rising number of coronavirus cases in the country prompted the state government, and later the central government, to order a complete lockdown.

Rajasthan’s official count according to the union health ministry currently stands at 804 coronavirus infections with three recorded deaths.

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