The Muslim community in South Goa has been asking for a burial ground
for over a decade. During the same decade thousand of hectares of land
has changed hands, be it for Mega projects or mining or SEZ. I don't
see the government is doing any service to the people of Goa, but then
do not do the disservice either. Every person irrespective of his caste
or creed is entailed to this basic right. Every religion preaches dead
person deserver honourable burial but it does not seems to the case in
Goa. Let us not create additional barriers in our society on these
issues. Let us not make human burial issue as complicated as we made
garbage disposable issue. Here we talk about human dignity, it a
different story that we do not have love and concern to living beings
but lets not sink to such a low ebb that denies burial to the dead.
I am catholic Christian and as I understand, Catholic faith in the
Paschal Mystery (the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ)
reveals itself through the dying and death of each Christian. In facing
death, we are reminded that God has created each person for eternal
life. We celebrate the funeral rites to offer worship, praise and
thanksgiving to God for the gift of a person's life, which has now been
returned to the Author of Life. For the final disposition of the body,
it is the Christian custom to bury or entomb the bodies of the dead in a
consecrated and holy place. Let us not boast that we are Catholic
Christian if cannot respect the same faith by which Muslims too are
called to bury their dead just as ours. When we are so generous to sell
our land to highest bidder irrespective of his caste or creed can’t we
be little generous to offer few yards of our land to our few Muslims
brothers?
Agnelo Pinheiro
Raia/ Dubai
