In Uttar Pradeshs Bulandshah, Muslim neighbours cremated a Hindu man and even chanted Raam Naam Satya Hai during his funeral procession, as relatives failed to gather amid the coronavirus lockdown.
The global coronavirus pandemic has been full of bad news, as most crisis-scale events tend to be. In India, the situation is no different from the rest of the world there are accounts of police violence, civic irresponsibility, and painful reminders of how poverty has left so many Indian vulnerable during the nationwide lockdown. In times like these, a piece of positive news is what gives us hope.
This video comes from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, and shows the funeral procession of a man named Ravishankar, who died of cancer. The coronavirus lockdown made it difficult for his relatives and family to attend his funeral, but his neighbours were at hand. The Muslim neighbours carried out Ravishankars last rites according to Hindu customs, chanting Raam Naam Satya Hai while walking in the funeral procession.
Its a reminder that Indias famed unity in diversity still exists, and also that in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising above religious differences and coming together is the only way to prevail. Hopefully, the spirit of religious harmony continues to prevail even after the coronavirus threat has passed.
This article was originally published in Arre