Muslim neighbours cremate Hindu youth as his family was unable to perform last rites

Photo: Representaional

NEW DELHI: In a show of unity, Muslim men carried out the last rites of a Hindu man in West Bengal's Malda. Biswajit Rajak, 35, died on Monday after a prolonged fight with liver cancer. When his family had no financial means or manpower to even arrange for Rajak's last rites, it was a group of Muslims who came forward and offered help. They carried his body on their shoulders and walked eight km to the crematorium chanting "Ram nam satya hai" and "Bolo Hari Hari bol" all the way. “All my Muslim brothers came forward and they were the ones who took the body to the Ganga,” Sarita, Biswajit’s wife, was quoted as saying by the Indian Express. "I have always felt the warmth of the Muslim community here. They have stood by us not as Muslims, but as humans." she added. The incident took place in Sheikhpura village of Manikchak block in Malda district, about 350 km away from Kolkata. "Hindus and Muslims are like two sons of the same mother. We have to look after one another. This will set an example before the country," the Muslim pall-bearers told PTI. There are a handful of Hindus in this Muslim-dominated village of 7,000. “No religion preaches hatred towards others. Biswajit was like our brother. Allah wouldn’t have forgiven us if we looked the other way thinking that the family follows some other religion” Haji Abdul Khalek, a pall-bearer told HT. Manikchak is about 40 km from Kaliachak in Malda, where riots broke out in January2016 when a part of a protest rally attended by thousands of Muslims turned violent. The mob had vandalized Kaliachak Police station, block development office and public property and torched several private and government vehicles.