NHRC notice to Rajasthan govt over Kalbelias protest demanding designated place for burial

The NHRC on Thursday said it has issued a notice to the Rajasthan government over a reported protest by the Kalbelia community demanding a designated place for the burial of their kin in Barmer district.

The NHRC on Thursday said it has issued a notice to the Rajasthan government over a reported protest by the Kalbelia community demanding a ''designated place'' for the burial of their kin in Barmer district. The National Human Rights Commission said that Kalbelias follow the ''Nath tradition'' under which their deceased family members are buried, and not cremated. But unlike designated cremation grounds or graveyards for other communities, allegedly, no burial grounds have been allocated for the Kalbelia community by the administration, the rights panel said in a statement. The NHRC has taken ''suo motu cognisance of a media report that people of the Kalbelia community staged a protest, by placing a dead body on the road, demanding a designated place for burial of their kin in Barmer district of Rajasthan on December 29,'' it said. The Commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises a serious issue of human rights violations. Therefore, it has issued a notice to the chief secretary of the government of Rajasthan, seeking a detailed report in two weeks, the statement said. ''The Commission is of the view that it is the duty of the State to uphold the dignity and protect the rights of the dead. Earlier in May 2021, the Commission had issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories on upholding the dignity and protecting the rights of the dead,'' it said. According to the media report, carried on December 30, the grieving Kalbelia families are generally ''forced to bury their dead on private lands due to lack of designated places''. Hence, they face resistance, abuse and many times even eviction, it said, quoting the report.

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