Onika Maheshwari/New Delhi

A Hindu family has donaten a piece of land to the Muslims of their village in Bihar for a cemetery in memory of their young son, who died in an accident.

This heartwarming and yet poignant story has emerged from Debe Dehra village, located in the Chausa block of Bihar's Buxar district.

Shivam Kumar, the 25-year-old son of Janardan Singh, of the same village, died in a road accident in Dehradun on 18 November.

Shivam was the financial backbone of the family, running three factories. Also, preparations were underway for his wedding when he passed away in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Shivam was hit by a speeding vehicle. His death shattered the lives of his family members.

Muslims of village Debe Dehra sharing the grief of Shivam Kumar's family

Shivam's uncle, Biraj Raj Singh, said that Shivam was not only a support to his family but to the entire village. Helping those in need and giving back to society was his way of life. His untimely death has plunged everyone in the village into grief.

Shivam's father, Janardan Singh, announced that he would donate one bigha of land (27,220 square feet) to the Muslim community of the Panchayat for use as a cemetery. This land will be handed over to the Muslim community soon.

The donated land has been named "Shivam alias Ahir Dham Cemetery." Biraj Raj Singh said, "Shivam always believed in brotherhood and mutual harmony. We want his message to reach future generations."

Family planting trees in the village in the name of their deceased son Shivam Kumar

Janardan Singh said, "Words cannot describe what I am going through. May God not give such pain to anyone." He says, as important as the road is, so too is the provision of ambulances every 20 km.

The family also planted trees in Shivam's memory. Family members say these trees will grow like Shivam himself and become a symbol of his simplicity, kindness, and humanity.

Devi Dehra village once had a graveyard. But a school was built on that site. This created two problems. First, the graves of the village's Muslims were gone. Second, Muslims had no fixed place to bury their dead.

Around 50 Muslim families live in the village. They would invariably carry the body five kilometres to another village for burial. This often resulted in disputes.

Some buried the bodies on the banks of rivers and streams. Now, with the land available, a major problem for the village's Muslims has been resolved.

Alauddin, a brick kiln worker in the village, explains, "Originally, there was a cemetery in the village. The bodies of our ancestors are buried there. But we were illiterate, so no one filed any documents for the cemetery."

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Alauddin said Shivam's father was like a messiah to the community as he gave his precious land for a burial ground.