A British Court is set to rule on the right of a Hindu to be cremated in an open air funeral pyre in Northumberland.
Davender Ghai, 70, is suing the Newcastle Council, which has barred open funeral pyres under the 1902 Crematorium Act, asserting his religious right to die “with dignity.”
Ghai says: “Being bundled into a box and incinerated in a furnace is not my idea of dignity, much less the performance of an ancient sacrament,” which, he asserts, frees the soul after death. Ghai does not believe that natural cremation grounds offend public decency “as long as they were discreet, designated sites far from urban and residential areas.”
While Ghai has drawn support from observant Hindus, he also has his detractors. According to Jay Lakhani, director of Hindu Council UK, says, “The idea that the soul requires an open-air cremation in order to be released, demolishes the potency of the soul and thereby undermines the very foundation of Hinduism.”
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