Burning solution to a grave problem
THE CLOSURE of fresh burials at the Kilpauk cemetery in Chennai (The Hindu, March 17) is a reminder of the scarcity of natural resources. With our bourgeoning population, the man land ratio is worsening by the day. Yet, significant areas are covered by cemeteries, qabristans and other graveyards. Each grave occupies at the least five square yards or more considering the pathways and margins. In the case of the qabristan, conceptually the grave is supposed to be eternal. Long after the remains have degenerated, the land continues to remain occupied.
An appeal should therefore be made to everyone concerned that bodies should be cremated rather than buried, wherever a gas or an electric crematorium is available. All in all, this is a plea to the various governments to discourage Hindus from using up wood and the others from wasting land. The decision of the Madras Cemeteries Board to construct an electric crematorium at Kilpauk testifies that there is no religious obstacle between burial and cremation. The Bishops of Madras Mylapore have also given their consent for this break from tradition.
A colossal crime
Cremation by wood is a colossal crime against the country's forest cover or rather the nation's ecology. Estimates of the quantity of wood used annually for cremation across the country vary from 12 to 72 lakh tonnes. Regardless of the actual quantity used, it is easy to see what a waste of wood it is. Wood that takes years to grow is blown up in smoke to dispose of, what in the Hindu ethos is, polluted waste matter.
It is not surprising that tradition insists that the body of a person who dies during the day must be cremated before sunset; that of someone who dies at night must be disposed of before sunrise. This is logical enough in a climate which is generally hot and humid. How polluted the dead body is considered to be is illustrated by what many a family in Gujarat practises. A dying person is transferred to the bare floor well before life goes out. The idea is to avoid polluting the bedding. I have met a person who had survived two transfers to the floor!
The ceremonial use of ghee, sandalwood, etc., was introduced to help the priest to earn some money and to enable the cremating staff to make a living. The attitude towards the body is so casual that all garments are allowed to be taken away by the cremating staff before the funeral pyre is lit. True, there is a sentiment attached to homagni or the havan as an essential part of the ceremony. However, a small havan in a container can be performed without having to waste so much wood, say some 400 kg at a time. There is, therefore, no religious or sentimental barrier to a widespread changeover to electric or gas crematoria.
Our country is wakening rapidly to the importance of ecology and environment. It is, therefore, surprising that no national leader has taken the initiative and appealed to the Hindus to stop using wood and instead use electric or gas crematoria, wherever available. It is more unfortunate that gas or electrical facilities are not being introduced with any speed in the towns and villages of India.
At the time of Independence, on paper, India had about 25 per cent forest cover. How much is the difference between the paper records and the reality on the ground is difficult to say. It is, however, not difficult to believe that by now the actual forest cover would not be 10 per cent in the country as a whole.
True, poverty in some of the rural areas is so excruciating that the local people have no alternative but to live on the surrounding forest. Equally perhaps, beyond a point, the governments are not able to prevent smugglers from illegally denuding the forests. But there can be no excuse for the policy not to be in tune with the country's ecological necessity.
PRAFULL GORADIA
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