Muslim neighbours carry Indian elderly’s bier for cremation amid lockdown
One of those Muslim youths told news agency PTI that they considered it as their moral duty and knew the woman since their childhood
An Indian elderly's funeral video and photos took its turn on social media as her bier was seen carried by her Muslim neighbours in protective face-masks when her own relatives refused to participate in fears of the coronavirus.
Unable to find a vehicle amid the nationwide lockdown, a bunch of youths carried the elderly woman's bier on their shoulders to the cremation ground around 2.5 kilometres away and helped her sons with the last rites, state Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja told news agency PTI.
The 65-year-old woman died on Monday after a prolonged illness in India's Indore.
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She is survived by two sons who could come home much after her death due to the lockdown restrictions.
One of those Muslim youths told news agency PTI that they considered it as their moral duty and knew the woman since their childhood.
Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Kamal Nath applauded the gesture of the Muslim youths, saying they have set an example in society.
"It is praiseworthy that people from the Muslim community along with the woman's two sons carried the body on their shoulders for her last rites. This has set an example in society. It reflects our Ganga-Jamuni culture and such scenes enhance mutual love and brotherhood," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
India has been under lockdown since March 24 to fight the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus that has affected over 4,000 people in India alone.
