A family dispute sparks conversion controversy in Madhya Pradesh
A man who became Christian in the city of Gwalior was prevented by his niece from burying his mother. She filed a complaint with the local police against him for trying to “convert” his mother she was dead. “God knows the truth and he will grant her eternal rest,” said Fr Stephen, a spokesman for the local Catholic Church.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – A family dispute in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) has sparked another row over the sensitive issue of conversions.
A man was not allowed to bury his mother, who passed away on 2 June, because of his conversion to Christianity.
Dharmendra Pratap Singh, who took the Christian name of David, wanted to bury his Hindu mother, Saroj Devi, in a Christian cemetery rather have her cremated according to Hindu tradition.
The woman’s granddaughter blocked the burial and went to the police claiming that her uncle, who converted in the city of Gwalior, was trying to convert her grandmother after death.
Shweta Suman, daughter of David Dharmendra Pratap Singh’s sister, travelled 1,100 Kilometres from Jharkhand to perform the Hindu funeral.
After the service, she filed a report with the local police about her uncle's behaviour, claiming he used force to convert his mother to Christianity.
Sweta stated that her grandmother remained Hindu until her death and therefore the funeral had to take place according to the rites of her religion.
While a family dispute, the case has unfolded in Madhya Pradesh, one of the Indian states to adopt one of the harshest anti-conversion laws in the country.
For Father Maria Stephen, public relations officer for the local Church, “this is a simple family dispute. Since we don’t have any documents to prove the conversion, I have nothing to say. God knows the truth and he will grant her eternal rest.”
Fr Babu Joseph SVB , a former spokesman of the Indian Bishops' Conference (CBCI), told AsiaNews that “In the absence of an explicit written will, the type of last rites falls on the immediate relative, who in this case is the son.”
It should be noted that not all Hindus practise cremation. Some “bury them as well.” Above all though, for Fr Joseph, “after performing her grandmother’s last rites as she wanted, the granddaughter’s complaint to the police appears malicious. Her uncle’s conversion is none of her business”.
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