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V.Balasubramani
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Caste system has not spared eventhe dead, laments HC
The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday expressed deepconcern over the caste system not having spared even dead bodies from its foldand lamented that the practice had percolated into Christianity too by makingthe followers of the religion fight among themselves over the right to maintainseparate burial grounds for different denominations.
Disposing of a public interest litigation petition related to adispute between Roman Catholics and Pentecosts over a burial ground at A.Vellodu village in Dindigul taluk, a Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumarand G. Chockalingam said: “Christianity has no caste system. What is prevalentand practiced in Hinduism appears to have been percolated into the above saidreligion.”
Wondering whether the holy Bible allows such a practice, thejudges said that it was a question best left to be answered by the conscienceof the practitioners “who seek pride in having their caste tags.” They ruedthat the caste system was so deep rooted that people fight over places for buryingdead bodies, force revenue officials to convene peace committee meetings andeven litigate.
Authoring the judgment, Mr. Justice Manikumar said: “During their lifetime, people fight for rights — customary, personal, property and so on. We are pained to see that even after death, the fight continues for burial…Graveyard is a place to rest. We wish the dead ‘Rest in Peace’ but on the facts and circumstances of this case, we could see that there is no peace for the living as well as the dead.”
The Bench also recalled former judge K. Chandru to have quotedthe lyrics of a Tamil song ‘Samarasam Ulavum Idame…’ from the 1956 movie ‘ Rambaiyin Kadhal ,’in a decision rendered in 2008 to state: “At least in departure from this worldthere should be unity and apartheid may not be practised by official acts ofMadurai Corporation by maintaining different sheds for different castes atThathaneri cremation ground.”
Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...d-even-the-dead-laments-hc/article7380972.ece
The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday expressed deepconcern over the caste system not having spared even dead bodies from its foldand lamented that the practice had percolated into Christianity too by makingthe followers of the religion fight among themselves over the right to maintainseparate burial grounds for different denominations.
Disposing of a public interest litigation petition related to adispute between Roman Catholics and Pentecosts over a burial ground at A.Vellodu village in Dindigul taluk, a Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumarand G. Chockalingam said: “Christianity has no caste system. What is prevalentand practiced in Hinduism appears to have been percolated into the above saidreligion.”
Wondering whether the holy Bible allows such a practice, thejudges said that it was a question best left to be answered by the conscienceof the practitioners “who seek pride in having their caste tags.” They ruedthat the caste system was so deep rooted that people fight over places for buryingdead bodies, force revenue officials to convene peace committee meetings andeven litigate.
Authoring the judgment, Mr. Justice Manikumar said: “During their lifetime, people fight for rights — customary, personal, property and so on. We are pained to see that even after death, the fight continues for burial…Graveyard is a place to rest. We wish the dead ‘Rest in Peace’ but on the facts and circumstances of this case, we could see that there is no peace for the living as well as the dead.”
The Bench also recalled former judge K. Chandru to have quotedthe lyrics of a Tamil song ‘Samarasam Ulavum Idame…’ from the 1956 movie ‘ Rambaiyin Kadhal ,’in a decision rendered in 2008 to state: “At least in departure from this worldthere should be unity and apartheid may not be practised by official acts ofMadurai Corporation by maintaining different sheds for different castes atThathaneri cremation ground.”
Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...d-even-the-dead-laments-hc/article7380972.ece
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