She wasnāt Hindu after marrying a Muslim, says Delhi temple head who denied shradh for dead woman
When told that it was the last wish of Nivedita, Bhawmik alleged, "Who knows the man had some ulterior motive and could bring in 50-100 of his relatives inside the temple and start praying Namaz."
A Muslim husband wants to perform a ritual for his dead Hindu wife and a temple society in a New Delhi Bengali-dominated neighbourhood has not allowed because they believe the woman was no longer a Hindu after her marriage even as she hadnāt given up her faith.
Imtiazur Rahman, who is based in Kolkata, lost her wife Nivedita Ghatak in the capital after she suffered from multiple-organ failure last week ā 20 years after the couple married in accordance with the Special Marriages Act that allows inter-faith wedding of couples irrespective of their individual faith. Ghatak was cremated as per Hindu rites at Delhiās Nigam Bodh Ghat but the family could not perform shradh ā a set of Hindu rituals performed for the deceased.
Rahman, who works as assistant commissioner, commercial taxes in the West Bengal government, said he had booked an August 12 slot at Kali Mandir Society in the Bengali-dominated Chittaranjan Park after paying Rs 1,300 for the ceremony on Aug 6. But he was later told by the temple society that his booking has been cancelled āfor obvious reasonsā.
Ashitava Bhowmik, the president of the temple society, told IANS that Rahmanās request could not be taken up for āmore than one reasonā. He alleged that Rahman āconcealed his identityā and made the booking in his daughter Ihini Ambreenās name āwhich doesnāt sound like Arabic or Muslimā.