On 24-26th March the Royal Courts of Justice in London will review Britain's cremation laws and decide whether Baba Davender Kumar Ghai, the founding president of the Anglo-Asian Friendship Society, an independent charity based in Newcastle, deserves the legal right to a Hindu religious cremation on an open air funeral pyre.
If successful, the case could set a precedent for designated natural cremation sites around the country. The 70-year-old Baba Ghai argues 'natural cremation' is already lawful - and tested the law in July 2006 by lighting the funeral pyre of Mr Rajpal Mehat in Northumberland (BBC, Times).
Newcastle City Council oppose Mr Ghai's last wish, arguing the practice is outlawed by the 1902 Cremation Act.
The High Court hearing is the culmination of 3 years of legal preparations by human rights specialist barristers Ramby de Mello and Tony Muman.
Opinion amongst British Hindus and Sikhs was divided when Mr Ghai lodged the judicial review application in 2006. Since then, even staunch opponents such as the Hindu Council UK (HCUK) have been won over and reversed their former policy, stating that, "individual choice of those Hindus who wish to follow the ancient Hindu scriptures and wish to have open air funerals should be honoured."
Their U-turn came after Mr Ghai's claim attracted support from eminent religious authorities support from the 'Hindu Pope' (and HCUK Spiritual Counsel) Shankaracharya Dibyanand and Professor H.R. Sharma of Banaras Hindu University.
HCUK opposition was even cited in the LSC's challenge to Mr Ghai's legal aid funding but they now join in consensus with every Hindu national umbrella organisation in Britain, collectively representing over 90% of the 559,000 Hindus in Britain (according to the 2001 census).
In response to protests amongst some British Sikh organisations, the President of the 'Sikh Parliament' at the Golden Temple in Amritsar formally urged the Indian Prime Minister to lobby for Britain for natural cremation grounds. Prof Satvinder Juss will address the High Court on behalf of a corpus of Sikh gurdwaras, led by Mr Gulzar Singh Sahota of Hitchin Ramgharia Gurdwara.
Statement of Mr Ghai:
If successful, the case could set a precedent for designated natural cremation sites around the country. The 70-year-old Baba Ghai argues 'natural cremation' is already lawful - and tested the law in July 2006 by lighting the funeral pyre of Mr Rajpal Mehat in Northumberland (BBC, Times).
Newcastle City Council oppose Mr Ghai's last wish, arguing the practice is outlawed by the 1902 Cremation Act.
The High Court hearing is the culmination of 3 years of legal preparations by human rights specialist barristers Ramby de Mello and Tony Muman.
Opinion amongst British Hindus and Sikhs was divided when Mr Ghai lodged the judicial review application in 2006. Since then, even staunch opponents such as the Hindu Council UK (HCUK) have been won over and reversed their former policy, stating that, "individual choice of those Hindus who wish to follow the ancient Hindu scriptures and wish to have open air funerals should be honoured."
Their U-turn came after Mr Ghai's claim attracted support from eminent religious authorities support from the 'Hindu Pope' (and HCUK Spiritual Counsel) Shankaracharya Dibyanand and Professor H.R. Sharma of Banaras Hindu University.
HCUK opposition was even cited in the LSC's challenge to Mr Ghai's legal aid funding but they now join in consensus with every Hindu national umbrella organisation in Britain, collectively representing over 90% of the 559,000 Hindus in Britain (according to the 2001 census).
In response to protests amongst some British Sikh organisations, the President of the 'Sikh Parliament' at the Golden Temple in Amritsar formally urged the Indian Prime Minister to lobby for Britain for natural cremation grounds. Prof Satvinder Juss will address the High Court on behalf of a corpus of Sikh gurdwaras, led by Mr Gulzar Singh Sahota of Hitchin Ramgharia Gurdwara.
Statement of Mr Ghai:
As a Hindu, I believe my soul should be liberated in consecrated fire ('Agni') after death - a sacramental rebirth, like the mythical phoenix arising from the flames anew. I have lived my entire life by the Hindu scriptures and they have inspired me to charitably serve this country for over 30 years. In the frailty of my twilight, I now yearn to die by them.More: Guardian: Why are funeral pyres illegal?, Independent: The burning issue of Hindu funeral pyres, Northumberland Gazette: Burial laws 'put Hindu man's soul at risk'.
I will not deny my claim is provocative, least of all in a nation as notoriously squeamish towards death as our own. However, I honestly do not believe natural cremation grounds would offend public decency - as long as they were discreet, designated sites far from urban and residential areas.
My proposals may be contrary to current norms but norms are ever-changing. My loyalty is to Britain's values of fairness, tolerance and freedom - not its passing norms. If I cannot die as a true Hindu, it will mean those values have died too - and that would be a great loss indeed.
I want to clarify and enforce the law, not disrespect it. I want equality, not exemptions.
Local Authorities routinely provide separate Muslim and Jewish burial grounds and out-of-hours registration and immediate or weekend burials. Hindus should cremate before the following sunset too and yet we, along with the general public, wait for up to a week. No one expects Hindus to marry in a church - so why are Hindu funerals shoehorned through Chapels of Rest designed like Anglican churches?
Hindu and Sikh families in Britain often accompany their deceased loved one's coffin down into the industrial innards of the crematorium. I have witnessed the crematorium incineration process there many times and must say that it is a mechanised humiliation of dignity. I want my own son to light my funeral fire - not a technician flicking a switch.
Gas crematoria are available in India too but, were it needed, the Mumbai atrocities showed the grieving families of slain Police Commissioners and other civic martyrs gathered around funeral pyres, lit with full state honours. I pray I am not denied that same solace on my dying day.
I fully respect that many Hindu-origin people will prefer the speed and convenience of crematoria but for practicing Hindus like me, receiving last rites is quite literally a matter of life and death. Far beyond my own death, I hope my struggle will provide a legacy for those who would not be in a position to undertake such an enormous challenge.
A shoestring legal aid budget has forced me to borrow and spend virtually every penny I have on the case. I am thankful to God that we have reached this far and if I die knowing my last rites will be honoured, my last breath can be taken without fear or regret. Until I receive the High Court verdict, however, no peace of mind is possible whilst the soul itself is in jeopardy.
