Sarpanch reads Constitution in crematorium...

Sandesh Prabhudesai
4 October 2001  

It was a rare scene. The village sarpanch, gathered along with the villagers and human rights activists, was reading the preamble of the Constitution in a public crematorium, in the presence of a retired high court judge.

This is how the Goa People's Front, who led the issue of caste discrimination in a public crematorium in Verla-Kanka village in North Goa, resolved it, persuading those same people who had denied entry to dalits for cremation in a public crematorium.

"Remember you have resolved to establish equality in the village by pronouncing the preamble in the presence of a retired high court judge", Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari cautioned Mohan Sawant, the village sarpanch, at a public rally held in Mapusa thereafter.

"I am feeling ashamed that such an act of discrimination among human beings took place in our village", said Sawant, while assuring the public that no such mistake will be committed in future, amidst victorious applause.

The GPF, along with dalit activists and human rights activists, compelled the state government to issue a circular to all the village panchayats that no discrimination on the grounds of caste or religion will be tolerated in a public crematorium.

The state authorities also restrained the village panchayat from constructing separate cremation sheds for dalits while the police also registered an offence, based on a complaint filed by the villagers, belonging to dalit community.

With the active support of local media, the GPF had taken up the issue when non-dalit Hindus performed 'purification' ceremony after a dalit was cremated in the newly constructed cremation shed in August and then prohibited cremation of another body of a dalit last month.

"It was not a purification ceremony but a simple religious ritual", clarified crematorium committee president Shantaram Redkar, while also publicly assuring that no such caste discrimination will take place in future.

"How can you claim of having achieved freedom when a human being is being denied entry even after death in a public place on the basis of caste or religion", asked Justice Dharmadhikari, while addressing a massive rally.

According to Adv. Satish Sonak, the struggle will be on though he feels relieved that the crematorium issue was resolved amicably. Taking help of NSS students of all the colleges in the state, the GPF now plans to conduct a through survey of the actual situation and then move ahead.

Surprisingly, while several NGOs and the media was trying hard to resolve the issue amicably, the government did very little. "If the issue is not settled amicably, we will take action" said chief minister Manohar Parrikar, while keeping his fingers crossed.

"It was primary responsibility of the government to intervene and make the people realise about their constitutional rights and privileges", said Justice Dharmadhikari. But the existing political system does not allow that to happen, he added, while lauding the efforts of educated youth and NGOs.

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