Bombay Parsi Punchayet backs usual funeral; priest says can’t silence rules

The Centrersquos stand in the Supreme Court that it wonrsquot change the funeral SOPs for Parsis dying of COVID has upset the community The Surat Parsi Panchayat had moved a PIL in the apex court seeking permission to follow their traditional funeral rites of letting corpses decay naturally Earlier the Gujarat High Court had observed that COVID guidelines are in lsquolarger public interestrsquo and do not violate any fundamental rights Parsis are opposed to the burial or cremation of bodiesEchoing the communityrsquos sentiments Noshir Dadrawala one of the trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet BPP said ldquoThey relatives would much prefer to dispose the dead at wherever the towers of silence are in Mumbai or Surat They would like to see their loved ones go the way their ancestors departed This is more of a community sentiment irrespective of someone being orthodox or reformistrdquoReligion aside Dadrawala said a majority of Zoroastrians have never been exposed to burials or cremations He said ldquoIn western India including Mumbai and Pune where the largest concentration of Parsis is it is new for them And they also feel that if other minorities have been allowed burial rights then why not us Sky burial is one possibility Covid protocols like ensuring PPE kits for pallbearers confining it to the dakhma tower of silence putting them under solar concentrators to eliminate bacteria virus We are willing to follow the scientific protocolsrdquoCurrently the BMC has prohibited the Parsis from performing their traditional funeral rites on the grounds that traces of the virus could spread through pallbearersldquoA lot of them are still very traditional and even the reformists were appalled as they did not know if they received their departed relativesrsquo ashes during peak COVID last year Imagine not being able to give even a dignified farewell to your loved ones The way the bodies were disposed and handled relatives were distraught If it would have been done at Doongerwadi there would have been solace more for the living than the deadrdquo said DadrawalaVistaspar Mehta the manager at Doongerwadi and a voluntary pallbearer said the number of COVIDrelated victimsrsquo bodies has reduced by 15 per cent at the cityrsquos Tower of Silence because of protocols to cremate or bury them ldquoThere was a scare initially and everyone including the authorities did not know anything when COVID broke out We did not know how it would spread We took precautions like ensuring masks PPE kits face shields gloves sanitisation and social distancing We have gone through plagues as well so we can manage this too We are on for it provided the BMC allows The Health Ministry also knows what it is doing But we can prove that our rituals will not spread infections The government thinks it can be a health hazard if we follow our ritualsrdquo he saidParsi priest experts differldquoWe have to follow the government rules for disposal of bodies owing to COVID and every religion is following it These protocols are new for everyone so where is the question of not following it However orthodox you may be you cannot dictate the government I donrsquot think it is about rituals rather a prevailing pandemic I am following what the government is stating since 2019 for COVID19 victims and also doing prayers for those who come for cremation but keeping in mind the rules I donrsquot do it openly I do the prayers inside the ambulance with the body kept inside and the parties are absolutely okay with thisrdquo said reformist priest dastur Framroze MirzaMirza believes that whatever the government is doing is to protect those who are alive and do not fall prey to this pandemic He said even at the Worli prayer hall for Parsis where he conducts cremation prayers the bodies come wrapped well and all rules are followedParsi culture expert Farrokkh Jijina also believes that culture cannot be preserved at the cost of the larger good and one has to move with time He said if the Health Ministry feels this is an incorrect way of disposal and could cause contamination to the pallbearers then the alternative must be followed ldquoCulture is as important as the laws of the land Religion is not more important than the larger good to people Also Dokhmenashini was an excellent system until a few years ago when there were vultures in MumbairdquoThe governmentrsquos SOPs for disposal of COVID victimsrsquo bodies are based on the recommendation of WHO World Health Organisation