Srilankan government makes cremation of those who die of coronavirus compulsory
Biplab Das, INN/Kolkata, @Infodeaofficial
Birth is predictable death is inevitable. Birth and death are the realities of life. Humans from ages have been known to have celebrated both the events according to their own beliefs. Death has always been considered as a dark aspect of life. In the middle of this coronavirus pandemic preventing the spread of the virus is the only way of avoiding death. Countries around the world are employing several ways of containing it in their own preferred ways. Still there has been no obvious ways of controlling it. In this unprecedented situation, it is not very wrong to work under speculations of our own but these speculations should always be based on agreeable logics and reasons.
On the 31st of March 2020 the Ministry of health of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ordered compulsory cremation of the people who died due to covid -19. This step was taken with the view of avoiding the possibilities of the spread of virus from the dead bodies. The ministry advocated their move by stating that the country’s groundwater level is too high so burial of the dead due to covid-19 is very risky in these circumstances. On a contrary the W.H.O. has not mentioned about any such threats. It has clearly prescribed that the dead can be buried or cremated respecting the religious beliefs of the dead. All the religious rituals that does not require touching can be performed by the loved ones. Moreover there are several island countries across the world with greater threats of contamination through water. None of them have come up with any such theory.
Great American playwright Thronton Niven Wilder said that the highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude. This move by the Sri Lankan government has deprived the minorities of the country with their basic rights. Burial is a part of the religious beliefs of the Muslim and the Christian communities. Clearly such unreasonable steps are politically inspired. The political demography of the country speaks the same. The Muslims that form 9.7% of the population (about 21 million) have been under constant attack since 2013. The current scenario suits the political agenda of portraying one section of the society as the reason of the distress in order to win the hearts of the majority. It reminds us about the politics in the 1940’s.
Such ideas of the Sri Lankan government have not given a very positive global message. Sri Lanka is a Buddhist dominant state and Buddhism has always been an inspirational source of tolerance. Such denial of the basic religious rights of the minorities cannot be accepted by the international communities. The U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of religion and Amnesty International has urged the government to respect the burial rights of the religious minorities of the country. The government of Sri Lanka should take this matter into consideration.
