Encourage Body-Donation and CNG-cremation : Strictly enforce “No Samadhi” rule

Encourage Body-Donation: Make it Compulsory for all those demanding state-cremation

India needs more and more dead bodies required for medical-research for students in medical colleges. Likewise eyes and other usable body-parts can give eyesight to blind and a new life to those requiring body-organs.

Considering all this, body-donation after death should be encouraged. Rather it should be made compulsory and mandatory for those requiring status of state-cremation to donate their bodies to some medical-college of their choice. Rather some section of that College can be named after respective body-donors for a life-time memory and respect for effectively using their bodies for much needed medical-research in interest of mankind. Unfortunately, only about .001-percent of dead people in India donate their bodies after death for medical-research to medical-colleges. Unclaimed dead bodies should be compulsorily used for medical-research. Thought should also be given if bodies of persons hanged to death after being convicted for death-sentence may also be sent to medical-colleges for medical-research.

There have already been examples of body-donation by known personalities like BJP leader Nanaji Deshmukh, VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore, CPM leaders Sitaram Yechuri and Somnath Chaterjee, former Chief Justice of Himacha Pradesh Leila Seth renowned writer Sharad Joshi, former Delhi BJP Chief Mangeram Garg etc. Apart from these, many more celebrities including like Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Aishvarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Navjot Singh Siddhu, Amir Khan, Sunil Shetti, Kiran Shaw Mazumdar, Salman Khan, Nandita Dass, Gautam Gambhir have already pledged to donate their bodies after death to medical colleges which are already in much shortage of dead bodies required for medical research to make India global hub for medical education. Even in ancient times, Mahrishi Dadhichi started the noble cause by donating his body-parts to be used so that his bones may be used to make weapons for welfare of gods. System will automatically eliminate demand for making samadhis or graves for departed leaders which unfortunately become a craze for family-members of deceased leaders like in case of short-term Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral. Once the phenomenon becomes popular, wood-fired cremation or burial will become a forgotten phenomenon of past.

In India, members of general public consider political rulers and celebrities as their role models to be followed not only in their lives but also even after their deaths. Once body-donation for all those demanding state-cremation is made mandatory and compulsory, more and more people will follow them for body-donation after their deaths thus making sufficient number of dead bodies for medical research. Even time may come when dead bodies may be exported to other desiring foreign countries. Rather India can take a lead also in this aspect in the world.

Likewise, eye-donation after death should be popularised rather made compulsory after death. India perhaps tops in the world in terms of blindness having about eight million blind persons out of total 36 million blind persons in the world. It is good that many known celebrities including like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra (hailing from a family of doctors), Salman Khan, Rani Mukherji, Aamir khan, Alia Bhatt, R Madhwan, Ellora Roychoudhary (first woman from Northeast India to posthumously donate her eyes and body) have already pledged to donate their eyes and body-organs in service of mankind.

India should have compulsory CNG-cremation of dead bodies for being environment-friendly

In order to become environment-friendly and also to save precious land, India should gradually move towards compulsory CNG-cremation. Already family-members of many prominent personalities including even non-Hindus preferred CNG-cremation as per desires of the departed personalities like including former Chief Minister of Delhi Smt Shiela Dixit. Even former Vice President M Hidayatullah was cremated (though with wood-fire) rather than buried according to Hindu rites rather than being buried even though he was a Muslim. Even Parsis are now have to adopt CNG-cremation because of non-availability of birds to consume dead bodies of those from Parsi community.

What about Union Cabinet 2000-decision to ban creating more Samadhis

It was really unfortunate that wish of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee remained unfulfilled when Rashtriya Smriti Sthal at Delhi for cremation of dignitaries getting state-funeral to implement resolution passed by the then Union Cabinet under his leadership in the year 2000 for not constructing new samadhis was used to cremate his dead body on 17.08.2018 for the first time was subsequently converted into Samadhi of the departed leader named as Sadaiv Atal. Idea of having a special separate cremation ground for VVIP personalities was created because of security-reasons in respect of those on high posts requiring special security. Union Ministry for Urban Development should now develop another Rashtriya Smriti Sthal nearby on Mahatma Gandhi Marg with sufficient land.

There also exists an unauthorised samadhi of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma at Gheora-more (Delhi) at a public-park (government-land) where cremation of the departed leader was done against all rules. File-notings under RTI Act reveal that no written permission was taken for such cremation which was attended by all top dignitaries including also the then President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister and others seated on high posts becoming mute witnesses of such illegal cremation by attending the funeral-ceremony. Even a Division Bench of Delhi High Court on 27.12.2017 rightly observed that no one has a right to indiscriminately use any open land (especially government-land) as a burial-ground. Delhi government or any concerned agency should take immediate action to remove unauthorised platform being encroached in name of samadhi of Sahib Singh Verma at a public-park on government-land.

Well-managed most popular cremation-ground Nigambodh Ghat needs more improvements

Ever since Badi Vaish Bise Panchayat (NGO) has taken management of Delhi’s most popular cremation ground Nigambodh Ghat, lot of improvements including like developing air-conditioned halls for waiting persons, Prayer-Halls have been developed with free packed drinking water served to persons of cremation-partiers. But still more needs to be done especially for managing effectively priests performing cremation-rites who usually demand excessive money than fixed for performing cremation-related rituals. System should be to charge fees of priests for performing cremation-related rituals including for ash-collection together with cost of wood. It is good that holy Ganga-Water and Hawan-Samagri to be used for cremation is given free at time of taking cost of wood. Fees for priests so charged with cost of woods should be credited to bank-accounts of respective priests at the month-end. System will eliminate all after-cremation disputes in respect of cremation fees and will provide a consolidated amount at month-end for each performing pries in respective bank-account.

If desired, higher rates for priests and others can be fixed for cremation done at VIP platforms. Even special charges can be levied for privileged cremation at VIP platforms. Even a dress-code can be formulated for priests and other staff deployed at the cremation ground.

All encroachments outside the cremation-ground including also unauthorised shops selling items used for cremation should be removed. An authorised shop has already been set up by the NGO where all the items needed for cremation are now available at No-profit No-loss. Mother Dairy should set up a milk-booth just outside the Yamuna Bazar gate of the cremation-ground so that milk, curd etc needed in the morning for rituals during ash-collection may also be available there. Such a milk-booth will also cater to needs of residents of Yamuna Bazar.