In folk literature as well epics such as Mahabharata, there are detailed gory descriptions of the battlefield, full of corpses, dogs, vultures and crows, weeping widows and of cremation grounds, with blazing fire around which there are ghosts, goblins and even gods of death, such as Vaitala, Bhairava and Chamunda, besides Tantrik practioners such as Siddhas who seek to learn and gain spiritual and occult power by facing death, fearlessly. Over 2,500 years ago, his bones collected after his cremation were divided between kings and placed in 84 stupas around the country. Images of the Buddha lying down as he dies is part of Buddhist art. In North India, Rajputs mark the spot where kings and queen are cremated with grand pavilions known as chattris. In South India, in many communities, people sing and dance in processions as the dead body, kept in a sitting posture, makes its way to the burial ground. Travel websites invite tourists to Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi to see the Hindu funeral ritual on the river bank, a few metres away from the Bollywood-style Ganga aarti. The funerals of the Gandhi family has asserted their Hindu roots, one that has been relentlessly challenged by WhatsApp groups that claim to be followers of Hindutva. Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral was shown to the whole world. Hindu funerals have been a public spectacles for centuries. This approach to crisis is very Hindutva, but not Hindu. Their strategy reminds us of abusive parents begging neighbours to respect family privacy but clicking a family portrait at the neighbourhood studio, with a garish backdrop, to hide the household horror from future generations. Instead, Hindutva supporters are now claiming that the foreign media is disrespecting Hindus by showing images of overcrowded crematoriums on their front pages, arguing that it reeks of Orientalism. Many of these deaths could have been prevented, if we focused on science, on oxygen, and vaccines. The truth of death – of hundreds of bodies floating down the Ganga and thousands being cremated in funeral pyres across India, which reveals not the virulence of a virus, but the incompetence of an extremely powerful government that was too pompous to take the warning signs seriously. Hindutva is a 19th-century political ideology that proclaims itself to be the defender of Hinduism. How Lala Shri Ram set up Lady Shri Ram College for Women and empowered women with sewing machines.‘Jai Hindu Rashtra’ banners come up in Khargone ahead of Ram Navami.A new book looks into banker Aditya Puri’s family life, sense of humour, and vivacious personality.IPL 2023: Complete squads, captaincy changes, team-wise schedule, key players and more.Watch: The trailer of Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ part 2 is out.Is ‘glass skin’ achievable? A dermatologist answers this and other skincare questions in a new book.Why a Bengali group’s attempt to blend the gamosa with the gamcha has caused an uproar in Assam.Why are Sikhs abroad more pro-Khalistan than community members living in India?.‘Bholaa’ review: High on action and colour filters. Kalakshetra abuse controversy should force a rethink of power hierarchies in ‘classical’ dance world.No way home for eight Indian Navy veterans jailed by Qatar?.The dark side of wind energy along Gujarat’s coast.
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