“It was in 1997,” says Satyal, who was born into a Nepali Brahmin family but later became a Catholic.[break]
“The wife of a cousin, who was serving with the British Gurkhas, died of a sudden illness. She was only in her 30s, and after Mass, her body was taken to Pashupatinath. However, instead of the cremation ground at the Arya Ghat, the body was taken to the forested land for a quiet burial.”
The first thing that struck him was how filthy the site was, used as a place to defecate. “We regretted having gone there but it was too late to turn back,” says Satyal, who is also the spokesman of the Assumption Church at Dhobighat, Lalitpur. “We paid someone to dig a grave and after the hasty and quiet burial, a wooden cross was put on top of the mound to mark the grave. However, none of us had any illusion that the cross would stay in place; it would probably vanish within hours. I also knew none of us were going to go back to the grave.”
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Now, besides the sorrow of having to bury one’s near and dear ones in a place unfit to be the last resting place, many Christian families are alarmed by the news that the Pashpuatinath Area Development Trust (PADT), the authority that administers the hallowed temple, will soon begin to demolish the graves in the forest to beautify the area.
“In 1987, the government gave us 292 hectares to develop the Pashupatinath area,” says Ram Saran Chimoria, director at PADT. “We have five-year plans to renovate the shrine and beautify the surroundings. The shrine is dedicated to Hindus, and the Shleshmantak is an ancient holy forest that goes back to the time of the Ramayan and Mahabharat.
Some Hindu sects – like the Giris, Puris and Bharatis, who are known as the Dashnami sect – traditionally bury their dead instead of cremating them, like other Hindus. So a part of the forest land is meant for Hindu burials. However, other non-Hindu sects also began burying their dead here, first pretending to be Dashnamis and then doing it openly. This goes against Hindu traditions. We are now seeking to reclaim the land that belongs to the Pashupatinath Temple.”
Though no one knows for sure, it is estimated that there are hundreds of non-Hindu graves in the forest. Besides Christians, Muslims and Kirants have also been using the area quietly for burials. Now, however, the graves face demolition as PADT plans to plant holy trees in the forest, including the rudraksha.
“It’s not only graves,” says Chimoria. “We’re also removing all other encroachments, like unauthorized stalls. It’s not our responsibility to provide burial grounds to non-Hindus, it’s the responsibility of the state.”
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Christians say they have no quarrel with PADT, but the government should understand their predicament too.
“Nepal became secular in 2006,” says C B Gahatraj, general secretary of the Christian advisory committee formed to forward suggestions to lawmakers about the new Constitution and how to protect the rights of the community. “In a democracy, all religions have equal rights. We’ve been asking the government to give us our own burial grounds but there’s been no response.”
Gahatraj says petitions were sent two years ago to the Prime Minister’s Office, to the office of the Minister for Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly and Culture, and the National Human Rights Organization. Christians have identified over 200 ropanis of wilderness land in Duwakot as a prospective burial site.
“If the government gives this land to us, we’ll make it one of the most picturesque spots in the Kathmandu Valley,” he says. “We’ll build gardens, and people will have another beauty spot.”
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Muslims are also aghast at the prospect of the aforementioned demolition.
“We have land in the Swayambhu area that’s used as our burial site,” says Nazrul Hasan, President of the Islamic Sangh. “But it’s not sufficient any longer. We asked the government two years ago for more land, but there’s been no response.”
The Swayambhu land is not really the government’s bounty to Muslims. In the past, the government took over the prime land the community owned near the Ghantaghar area in the city and gave them the plot as unequal compensation. Muslims lament that even after four years of secularization, they still don’t have adequate land for burials, or the Muslim Commission promised by the Maoist government, or even a regular Haj Committee to facilitate the holy pilgrimages to Mecca.
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Gahatraj says the cemetery issue is being discussed with Muslim organizations as well. From February 15, Christians will start a relay hunger strike at the Maitighar Mandala, and even if that fails to move the government, they plan to internationalize their plight by knocking on the doors of international human rights organizations and the media.
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