Awareness Campaign to End Death Feasts Gains Momentum in Saharanpur
Saharanpur: The campaign to eliminate the practice of death feasts in society is gradually gaining momentum, with an increasing number of people coming forward to spread awareness against the tradition. Social worker Jairam Gautam, along with his team, has been visiting villages and urging people to avoid spending money on death feasts and funeral cloth, and instead use the funds to support the education of underprivileged children, the marriages of daughters and needy families.
The practice of organising a feast after a person’s death has been followed in society for generations. However, such traditions have increasingly become a financial burden for poor families. Over the years, various organisations and socially conscious individuals have undertaken awareness campaigns to discourage the practice.
Jairam Gautam, a resident of Ghadi Maluk, has been working with his team for nearly a year to raise awareness against death feasts. By attending cremation ceremonies in villages, he urges those present to take a pledge that they will neither organise nor participate in death feasts.
The team also appeals to families to avoid unnecessary expenditure on funeral cloth and other related items. If the bereaved family is financially weak, the money should instead be used to provide direct financial assistance. If the family does not wish to accept monetary help, support can be provided for the education of underprivileged children or the marriage of daughters.
According to Gautam, the campaign began after he and his team motivated people at a cremation ceremony in Sundalhedi village to give up the practice of death feasts. Since then, awareness programmes have been conducted in Pali, Sarkadi Khumar, Khubbampur, Gagalhedi and several villages in the Rampur Maniharan area. In several villages, people have already decided to discontinue the practice.
Those supporting the campaign include Ankit Singh, Mahipal Saini, Mangedas, Sachin Kumar, Sunita Devi, Shikha Kashyap, Bijendra Fauji, Bhopal Singh Gautam, Vinod Kumar and Shubham, among others.
Meanwhile, the Mandhan Khap of the Jat community in the Nakur area had taken a collective decision nearly a year ago to prohibit the age-old practice of death feasts at a mahapanchayat held under the leadership of Khap Chaudhary Balbir Singh. The Jat community has since implemented the decision.
Similarly, at a panchayat of members of the Scheduled Caste community held in January in Tholla Fatehpur village of the Gangoh area, a decision was taken to discontinue the practice. Former village head Deshraj said that people were following the decision.
