Sheikh Muhammad Younis / Hyderabad

As humanity faces one of the worst crises in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic, the divisions created by religions have started falling apart as a group of youth in Telangana is helping cremate and bury the bodies of abandoned or lonely people who have died of Corona, as per their respective religion.

The Youth Welfare organization led by Syed Jalaluddin Zafar, has so far performed the last rites of 1600 people who died of the viral disease and were either orphan or their relatives were  scared to perform their last rites, for they could fall sick.

The team at work at a Cemetery

Out of all the deceased they have put to rest, more than 200 are Hindus, while two were Sikhs and 15 Christians. The youth group has 160 members across Telangana, of which the largest -60-member team is based in Hyderabad.

Zafar says a 10-member team of his organization is always in readiness to receive calls and do the follow-up. They are available round the clock.

Zafar’s team has been trained in performing the last rites of people of different faiths while maintaining Covid protocol. The volunteers buried 1,200 Muslim bodies so far.

Zafar said that the second wave is extremely deadly and the situation is more dangerous than the world wars. During the last ten days, the volunteers have either buried or cremated more than 50 bodies. He asked people should take all precaution to evade the disease and the rich must come forward to help the poor.

Consigning mortal remains of a Covid victim to fire in a crematorium

The volunteers of his organisation are also working in the districts across the State. Zafar says the toll has risen sharply in the last two weeks as the volunteers see long queues of families outside cemeteries and crematoriums.

The Youth Welfare Telangana had been engaged in the field of blood donations, educations etc for six years. Its foray into this emotional task of giving decent send-offs to the Covid-dead happened accidentally.

A friend of Zafar had lost his father. The son of the deceased abandoned his body for the fear of contracting Covid-19 and his distraught daughter approached Zafar for giving a dignified burial to him.

After this his organisation started performing the last rites of the dead on a regular basis. The group even sought a permit from the government for performing this pious task.

Saying prayers for the dead at a graveyard after burying a Covid victim

One day the group came across the body of a Hindu labourer from Andhra Pradesh who had died in Hyderbad and had nobody but his wife to cremate his mortal remains. They took the body to the cremation ground and performed his last rites. With this, the group started cremation of the bodies of non-Muslims – Hindus, Christians and Sikhs.

Zafar told Siasat.com that he receives overwhelming love and support from non-Muslims. People praise this all-Muslim youth group for undertaking the cremations of the people who are dumped by their own kith and kin. “Some people call us angels and bhawan; but we are just doing our duty towards humanity,” Zafar told the portal.