Caste conflict: Lower caste Hindu family stopped from cremation in Badin

Sardar Karyo's body was denied cremation in Pangrio, allegedly due to pressure from upper caste community.


Sameer Mandhro December 10, 2013
Unable to afford to take the body to another city, they collected donations to pay Rs5,000 fare to transport the body to Tando Bago. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: The body of a lower caste Hindu was not allowed to be cremated at the local crematorium in Pangrio, Badin on Sunday allegedly due to pressure from an upper caste Hindu community.

A Pangrio native, 60 year-old Sardar Karyo passed away on Sunday. When his family took his body to the local crematorium, his cremation was not allowed under pressure from an influential local Hindu community.

Denied of their right, Karyo's family members staged a protest outside the press club. However, their protests fell on deaf ears.

Desperate, Karyo's family arranged for his body to be transported to Tando Bago for his final rites. Karyo’s younger brother, Veero, said that they could not afford to take the body to another city, and that they collected donations to pay Rs5,000 fare to transport the body to Tando Bago.

His final rites were performed late on Sunday night.

Karyo’s relatives maintained that they had been performing rituals in the same area for centuries, claiming that some people from upper caste did not allow them to perform the rituals.

The Karya community, settled mostly in lower parts of Sindh, are mostly blacksmiths who bury their young and cremate the old.

This is the second such incident in two months in Pangrio where a member of the lower caste Hindus has not been allowed to complete their rituals despite tall claims of the government that rights of minorities would be safeguarded. The first incident was of Bhooro Bheel whose body was desecrated in Pangrio on October 6 this year.

COMMENTS (2)

Moiz Omar | 10 years ago | Reply

Discrimination based on castes should be prohibited.

Zhang | 10 years ago | Reply

What now, Fire is not clean enough? interesting, actually is, what is this about?

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