In an effort to reinforce social harmony and brotherhood among the villagers, 148 Gram Panchayats of four districts in Punjab have resolved to keep one common cremation ground in their respective villages.
These Panchayats in Patiala division have resolved to close the additional cremation grounds meant for performing last rites of different communities.The Gram Panchayats that have adopted the resolution, include 73 villages in Fatehgarh Sahib, 58 in Patiala, 10 in Sangrur, 6 in ludhiana and 1 in Barnala.
According to Divisional Deputy Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, Patiala, the 148 villages have consented to have only one cremation ground and people of all castes will be using the same crematorium for the funeral rites.
In Punjab villages, the practice of having more than one cremation grounds has been quite common for decades. Even Gurudwaras for different sects among Sikhs are separate. Also, the practice of keeping people of schedule caste away from the cremation grounds of those of upper caste, has been prevalent. There are villages in the State, where in one village, more than six cremation grounds and Gurdwaras exist.
The matter of different cremation grounds in villages was taken up by Advocate H C Arora, when he lodged a complaint with the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission, Chandigarh. He had said that untouchability was being practiced in the State, in shape of creating separate cremation grounds on the basis of caste divide.
On receipt of notices by the commission, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats issued orders on January 15, 2016 to all the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that the additional cremation grounds in each village are put to an end and only one cremation ground in a village exists.
The matter of separate cremation grounds for different castes has also been raised in the State Assembly several times. The BJP MlA Som Parkash had raised the matter of communal disharmony because of separate crematoriums and places of worships in villages. The separate cremations grounds create a communal divide and result in wastage of useful common land of villages, which can be put to other societal use if freed, he had said.
Some villages have come forward to break the shackles of primitive thoughts. A village Harigarh, falling on Barnala-Sangrur village had set an example in this direction by closing down 4 out of 5 cremation grounds in the village. The villagers decided to keep one cremation ground, which was earlier meant for Majhbi-Ramdasia Sikhs for the entire village and the land of other cremation grounds was brought under other community purposes. The village panchayat was then honoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this initiative.