Challenges of Moksh Organization:

an epitome of humanity
Nikhil K. Mehta, Shubham Chourasia and Aswini Devadas

n 5th January 2018, Ashish Thakur, the Founder of Manav Moksh Sewa Evam Jan Nikhil K. Mehta is an

O Utthan Samiti[1] (Moksh), was in his office when he received a call from one of the
volunteers of his organization. The call left Ashish in dismay. Ashish had several
Associate Professor at the
Organizational Behavior,
HRM and Communication at
issues to address concerning the activities of Moksh, a non-governmental organization
the National Institute of
(NGO). He had started to provide respectful adieu to the departed souls by providing them
Industrial Engineering
free of cost cremation services. Inspired by his own needs of human welfare and moral (NITIE), Mumbai, India.
elevation, Ashish attempted to bring an end to the human suffering through his (NGO) Shubham Chourasia is
Moksh. The NGO claimed unclaimed dead bodies from local police and performed on them student at NITIE, Mumbai,
necessary religious last rites and rituals (cremation or burial). Hence, facilitated a respectful India and a Program
adieu to the departed soul. Manager at OLA (ANI
Technologies Pvt Ltd),
As there were no direct sources of revenue for Moksh, volunteers generated most of the
Mumbai, India.
necessary funds on their own. Considering the work of cremation as virtuous and righteous, Aswini Devadas is a
these volunteers came forward and supported the cause through their personal income. Research Associate at
With time, the number of cremations had increased and brought enhanced financial burden NITIE, Mumbai, India.
on each of the volunteers. Most volunteers did not have a sound financial background and
their participation in the endeavour was restrained merely by their moral duty. Despite their
intense moral duty, the reality of their financial limitations was impeding them to participate.
Such impedance had reduced their ability to contribute financially in the endeavours of
Moksh. As a result, the volunteer informed Ashish on the phone that he would not be able to
financially or physically contribute to the impending cremation. This call was not the first of
its kind. Other volunteers had also exhibited similar reluctance in the past. The reduction in Disclaimer. This case is intended
to be used as the basis for class
the contribution was not the only reason for Ashish’s concern. While he had operational discussion rather than to illustrate
issues of Moksh to look at, he also had significant concerns regarding the deep internal fear either effective or ineffective
handling of a management
and the socio-cultural taboos that society had in terms of dealing with cadavers. Dealing situation. The case was compiled
with prevailing necrophobia in society was one of their biggest challenges. from published sources.

All authors sincere gratitude to

Mr Ashish Thakur, the Founder,
Family background and Ashish Thakur’s initial days Mr Neeraj, and to all the
volunteers of Manav Moksh
Way back in 1994, Ashish’s father worked as a policeman. As Ashish stayed along with his Sewa Evam Jan Utthan Samiti,
family in a police colony with an adjunct police station, he spent his childhood hearing Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh),
India. Authors thank Sir David C.
stories of police cases and investigations. Some of the stories that touched him were those Korten, Ms Nicole Moore and
of insensitive human death concerning medico-legal cases and undignified cremations of Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
Boulder, CO, for generously
those dead bodies. Ashish grew up in those spaces feeling helpless. Helping others came allowing us to use the table on
to him naturally. That was why he decided to help others and chose to begin his career as a strategies of development-
oriented NGOs: four generations
supervisor in one of the local hospitals. in this case study for no fee.
Authors used the suggested
One day when he was on his way to the hospital, he saw pieces of flesh strewn on the floor copyright credit line
appropriately. Authors sincere
and some stray dogs were feasting on it. At the time he was not aware of what the dogs thanks to Case Development
were scavenging on. He ignored it and moved on. Then on, he often observed dogs Centre, NITIE, Mumbai.

DOI 10.1108/TCJ-07-2019-0065 © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1544-9106 j THE CASE JOURNAL j
 feasting on flesh. One day when he was returning from work, he saw some people gathered
at the same place, and upon inquiring, he learnt that it was human flesh. He requested and
tried to persuade the authorities of the hospital to take appropriate action in sensitively
dealing with the bodies. His ability to convince the hospital authorities to get the clearance
and obtain a positive response from them gave him the strength and motivation to look at
life differently. This accomplishment gave him the strength to deal with his helplessness with
which he grew up. That day of revelation had made such an impact that he got the strength
to sow the seeds of social service into his life goals. That was when he realized the need for
sensitivity towards unclaimed dead bodies.
It was October 2001, Ashish was sitting in his office, an acquaintance came up to him and
informed him that her father was no more. She was a married lady and was worried about
the cremation of her father. She informed Ashish that her husband was against her father,
and she was the only daughter. No one in her family could have carried out the father’s last
rites. So, she requested Ashish to help her by necessitating the requisites to perform these
last rites.
Ashish heard her story and agreed to accept the responsibility of performing the last rites in
the capacity of the son of the departed soul even though he was not. As she was from an
affluent family, she requested that her father’s farewell be done in a very respectful manner.
The lady paid Ashish the necessary expenditure and was about to leave when Ashish
requested her to be present at the funeral. She refused, saying that her husband would
disapprove of her presence at the funeral. Ashish realized then that dying a lonely death
was one of the worst sufferings that a man could face. While Ashish contended that his act
had accomplished the need of both the daughter’s wishes and the departed father’s soul,
he also got a sense of satisfaction in his deed.
Over the years, Ashish became instrumental in these kinds of endeavours. People started
knowing him and his work. He continued his efforts with determination. On another instance,
Ashish had heard of several deaths in a major accident. A man from a well-off family was
travelling in his car along with his driver, his sister and a girl with whom he was rumoured to
have a relationship. During the accident, the man and his consort perished. The family used
their hold to control the spread of the news. They did not want the news of him being with
his consort to become public. The driver and the sister were admitted to the hospital. In this
due, the family cremated the body of the man. Sadly, the dead girl was left alone at the
scene of the accident. Ashish was appalled when he saw the life-less body of the girl lying
unclaimed in the morgue. He took charge of contacting the girl’s family and supported them
in performing the cremation.
The reoccurrence of similar events in his life made Ashish reflect on the question: Why me?
While he had some aspects of contentment in these kinds of deeds, he started considering
cremation as an act of virtue. Being compassionate, he considered it as something that
God had wanted him to do and hence, he decided to initiate his humanitarian work by
setting up his NGO known as Manav Moksh Evam Jan Utthan Samiti or the Moksh
Organization.

Initiation of Moksh
Death was and always will be inevitable, but certainly not the cessation of human suffering.
Feeling the emotions of a person who ceased to exist with an unfortunate isolated
unceremonious and or anonymous death was something that became important to Ashish.
According to various scriptures, departed souls leave the world alone, but the thought of
dying an anonymous death horrifies human beings. Strewn in chemicals that embalmed
them, cadavers remain in the morgue waiting for the completion of legal procedures and
their turn to meet their end. Some of the stories that heaved Ashish’s heart were about how
the unidentified and unclaimed dead bodies remained shelved in the mortuaries for several

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days, sometimes months, waiting to be claimed. When the funeral day came, these
unidentified cadavers met their end without any prayers or rituals. On several occasions,
relatives did not come forward for cadaver identification or to shoulder their responsibilities
which sometimes led to mutilation or uneven decomposition creating problems and delay in
performing the last rites. From time to time, newspapers had published sagas of undignified
treatment given to the dead bodies because of limitations of the administrative systems. For
example:
䊏 According to the Dainik Bhaskar (DB Star, 2020)[2], the Indian national daily in Hindi, a
report was published maintaining that a decade ago, the last rites of unclaimed
cadavers were performed by the police authorities. Whenever there was information
regarding such cases of unidentified dead bodies, one of the constables from the
police station was assigned to the case. The constable had to shoulder the entire
responsibility either by solely financing the endeavour or by gathering funds. Gradually
over the years, the police forces withdrew their participation from carrying out these
rites, and social organizations had replaced them in these responsibilities.
䊏 Vikas Chandra also known as Guddu Baba, an environmental activist (Pareek,
2015)[3], filed public interest litigation to the Supreme Court of India, alleging that the
authorities dumped unclaimed bodies into rivers (PTI, 2013)[4].
Ashish, in his initial days of working with hospitals had also witnessed how the unclaimed
dead bodies were dealt with. He, therefore, initiated an NGO, namely, Manav Moksh Evam
Jan Utthan Samiti (Moksh) to addresses the following aspects of working:
䊏 issues of insensitive handling of unclaimed dead bodies in the hospitals;
䊏 the ideology of giving respect to dead bodies during their last journey from the
world; and
䊏 social welfare of all.

Philosophy and the activities of Moksh

Initially, it was Moksh that approached the police authorities to claim the unclaimed
corpses. It was after Moksh became a registered organization under The Madhya Pradesh
Registration Act 1973, formed for promotion of social welfare, religious and charitable
activities, police authorities on completing the necessary legal formalities granted Moksh to
take over the responsibilities of the last rites. Moksh functioned by all the prescribed rules
under the act. Moksh would not initiate the proceedings without clearance for the last rites
from the police and hospital authorities as it was a crucial requirement.
India has always been a multi-diversity country consisting of individuals who come from
different communities such as Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism
and Zoroastrianism. Each community follows its rituals of its own, and these practices laid
an essential foundation for their important socio-norms (see Exhibit 1). Though it was
uncertain whether the dead person wanted the rituals in a particular manner or not, Moksh
maintained abiding respectful adieu to the departed soul with all the prayers and rituals.
These processes required identification of the religion of the dead bodies so that the
decision on cremation or burial could be undertaken. Most authorities provided this
information during the handover process. However, in cases where the bodies remained
unidentified, they were cremated.
In other cases, the volunteers of Moksh circulated their toll-free numbers at various locations
including highways so that information on unattended or unclaimed dead bodies could be
received. The Moksh volunteers then coordinated with the police, visited the site of the
incident and helped to perform the last rites of such persons, if needed. In some instances,
if needed, the volunteers also helped police authorities in tracing the family members of the

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 deceased using social media or personal contacts. In many cases where the poor relatives
could not afford the cost of last rites, the volunteers financially and morally support the
cause.
As Moksh was in constant touch with the police force, they could regularly get messages
regarding unclaimed cadavers from the police. After that the Moksh volunteers would help
the police to initiate the case. The bodies remained held in the mortuaries, till the time the
police investigated the case and gathered the necessary evidence to make a clearance
report. Parallelly, medical investigations were performed to aid in understanding the cause
of death, such as natural death, murder, suicide or accident. These investigations aided in
the identification of the dead person and enable authorities to find the presence of any
tattoo that depicts name, religious symbol or any other necessary information. Usually, male
body identification would be easier than dead female bodies. Mostly death of destitute or
drug addicts who could not tolerate the extremely cold climate is more in peak winters, and
the last rite work at Moksh remained comparatively higher in late winters.
As different memorial services were not a possible option for Moksh, the volunteers had
decided to organize free food distribution services for destitute and needy people once in a
month at different homes and shelters in remembrance of the deceased. Also, collective
prayers had been organized in different temples, mosques and churches across their
hometown Jabalpur. Moksh, as an organization, considered the act of respectful adieu to
the departed soul purely as a humanitarian service. All expenditures were borne by the
volunteers on their own, and Moksh did not charge the government or any of the other
authorities for the services offered.

Growth of the organization

As Ashish’s father used to work for the police, he was known in the community. Therefore,
seeking support for the clearance of dead body cremation from the police was
comparatively easier for Ashish. The idea to initiate the organization came to Ashish when
he used to work part-time as a medical supervisor at NSBC Government Hospital during his
college days. Apropos of the need of the hour, he started funding the cremations on his
own. With his limited income, there were days when he faced cash crunches.
Ashish was slowly building rapport within the community. He worked hard to gain the
confidence of the people. In the year 2006, people gave small loans to the Moksh group
with the assurance of a return. Their contributions, though in small quantities, sometimes
proved to be a blessing for Moksh. During this time, Ashish was still a student at a local
university and had no income. He, however, managed the funding through his savings and
pocket money. In one dire situation, he even had mortgaged his bike to purchase logs of
wood required for the cremation (see Exhibit 1). Besides the financial constraints, he
remained passionate and motivated towards this social service. Thus, in this way, the small
Moksh started to grow and registered as an NGO.
It was also during this period that India Today, one of India’s celebrated magazines, printed
the news about his endeavours. His activities were being recognized and appreciated.
People started approaching him, and the news of his charitable endeavour spread across
the country. He created a Facebook page wherein people could communicate with them
and get to know about the organization. One of the communications made by Moksh is
presented in Exhibit 3. Newspapers were a constant source of information for the local
people, and they felt connected to the plight of the people which Moksh had addressed.
Mostly those who connected with Moksh were distressed and needy. They needed help in
cremating someone they knew. Despite much of publicity in social media and press, Moksh
was unable to accrue members who could support them financially. However, the demand
from those seeking support enhanced in this regard. Along the path of social service, Ayer
and Neeraj (friends of Ashish) joined him in this endeavour. They started campaigns to

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invite supporters. However, with the growth of Moksh, several challenges emerged for
Ashish.

When his passion and good intentions costed him

Over the period Moksh became operational. One day, Ashish got information about the
accidental death of an unknown person on a nearby highway. He immediately rushed to the
spot. The onlookers informed him that the dead body had been lying on the highway for
the past three days. In a fit of rage against the authorities and under the influence of his
uncontrolled emotions, he cremated the body on his own without taking any formal
permission. As a result, after a few days, the police came to Ashish with an arrest warrant.
Ashish was taken to the police station where he was kept in the lock-up for two days.
Upon investigation, the police learnt that the body was lying unclaimed on the highway and
Ashish had tried to contact the family of the deceased, but in vain. The then deputy
inspector general of police of Jabalpur, who knew his work, released Ashish on bail. It was
then that Ashish realized a lesson of his life, that mere good intentions were not enough to
take forward a task and those good intentions needed to be coupled with the acts that
sufficed legal and ethical obligations. Since then, Ashish became very particular about
informing the police immediately if he became aware of such a case and then claimed the
dead body to perform the last rites appropriately.

Issues and challenges

Although Moksh was growing and achieving the purpose for which it was started, there
emerged several issues. Ashish always maintained that funeral rites needed a small amount
of expenditure and that the volunteers themselves could bear the cost. In the initial days, as
the numbers of last rites were limited, managing the funds was comparatively an easier job.
The volunteer contributions became insufficient because of the increased number of last
rites (see Exhibit 2). The costs incurred in these cremations were borne personally, and
therefore the funds gathered by Moksh were dependent on the number of volunteers joining
the NGO and moderated by the capacity and financial background of the volunteers.
Considering that these volunteers did not have a sound financial background, their
participation in the endeavours was merely on moral grounds. Therefore, the reality of their
financial limitations impeded their participation.
In December 2017, when the number of last rites enhanced to 30 cremations or burials (see
Exhibit 2), the increased volume of last rites meant increased expenses, and it became
difficult for Moksh to cater to such needs. As the association of volunteers joining in was not
steady and constant, pooling funds from those associated became insufficient. The
dwindling numbers of volunteers and escalating dearness further added to the challenges
in the functioning of the organization. As many of the volunteers who joined Moksh were
fresh college graduates, they left Jabalpur either for their higher studies or to meet their
professional requirements. As the number of volunteers declined, the remaining volunteers
had to bear the cost of the funerals. Hence, the entire burden of cremation came to the
shoulders of the volunteers remaining. With time, there was a constant need of increasing
the contribution, and this would only be possible if the number of volunteers would increase
or the existing volunteers could raise more contribution either through sponsors or any other
funding agencies. However, experiences of social reluctance and necrophobia among
prospective volunteers were unexpected (see Exhibit 4 for details). Some of them cited
reasons such as:
䊏 My family does not allow me to go to the crematorium.
䊏 On Sundays, people in my community do not participate in a cremation.
䊏 Hindu women do not participate in cremation or go to the crematorium.

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 䊏 My religion does not permit me.
䊏 I am not allowed to touch dead bodies.
䊏 I am emotionally weak; I cannot do this work.
䊏 I have a fear of going to the crematorium.
䊏 Evil comes along from crematorium.
䊏 It is difficult for me to do this job.
䊏 I do not wish to involve myself in police investigations.
䊏 I do not wish to involve myself.
䊏 There may be several police inquiries later.
䊏 The cadaver does not belong to my religion.
䊏 It is difficult for me to visit Christian graveyard.
Often these kinds of statements were heard when the volunteers shared their field
experiences with Ashish, and it was not that he was not aware of these social facts. While
people experienced sadness on seeing the embalmed dead bodies almost every day, they
had different perspectives when it comes to death or attending funerals. Indeed, there were
conscious, sub-conscious or unconscious feelings that surfaced when one witnessed a
dead body, coffin, graveyard or anything related to the funerals. In some individuals, these
feelings manifested into the fear that the dead would haunt them for life. So, approaching
people to request them to join the organization sometimes created indifferences. Such
manifestations were the reason behind the volunteer who called Ashish on the phone to
withdraw his participation. Hearing about the growing coldness among volunteers of his
organization thwarted him.
Later that day, while other volunteers returned after the cremation, Ashish stayed back
sitting on a bench at the cremation ground. Sitting there, he was constantly looking at the
colossal idol of Ardhnareshwara (fused male–female figure of the Hindu god of destruction,
Lord Shiva) prominently located at all the Hindu cremation grounds. He had several
questions and thoughts in his mind, and with perplexity, he began reflecting on the growing
reluctance among volunteers, his passion, need of the society and various social
processes. His thoughts were dwindling, and he felt anger and sadness brewing inside him.
In all of these, perhaps he trusted that Ardhnareshwara would settle everything. There were
constant questions for the self and the idol. Sometimes he questioned his passion, his
satisfaction from his work, and on the other hand, he also questioned others. Hence, began
dialectics of Ashish.
Although India has grown manifolds, why did people still behave the way they behave? Why did
they not come forward and support the cause? What should I have done to unfreeze them so
they would have responded to the call I made?

While he was in his thoughts, he remembered an incidence where people denied support to
the cause of Moksh because of social differences arising out of class, caste and religion.
His mind was nagging him to find an answer to his question:
Why class, caste and religion appeared more important to people over humanity? What should I
do? Why did the relatives not come forward and shoulder their much-needed responsibilities?
Although the world is moving and is modernising why do people remain caged with their
stereotypical thoughts? If dead ones really had to bother someone, it would have been me, who
indeed had been working day in and day out with them? So far, none had bothered me, how
could the deceased, who had ceased to exist affect the existence of others? Why were certain
Hindus reluctant to attend Christian or Muslim funerals and vis-a-vis? What if they would
accompany in such endeavours?

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Running back on his memory lane, he remembered how Ayer and Neeraj once spoke to him
about lessons from Garuda Purana[5], one of the 18 ancient Hindu Mahapuranas.
Did the learning from Garuda Purana really mean that the deceased who died under painful or
anonymous conditions would come back to haunt and affect others?

Also, he remembered how his young volunteers often talked about the horror movies they
watched and how it impacted their mindset. Ashish remembered how one of the volunteers
watched The Nun[6] and was deeply impacted. He was so scared that he did not
participate in the next Christian funeral. Not knowing under which circumstances those
cremated by him would have departed from this world, Ashish had growing compassion
towards the departed. There was constant anger towards the society as he was constantly
questioning:
Why did people say that they cannot visit cremation grounds on certain days? Is it really
dangerous to visit cremation grounds on Amavasya (lunar phase of the new moon)? Does
Aghora[7] Tantra affect people? Why did the society suffer from necrophobia? What should he
do to reduce anxiety about cadavers, bier, crematorium, coffins, and graveyards? There had
been several reasons affecting many that brought nothing more than helplessness and
bystander apathy.

While he reflected aloud, there was another important question that struck him:
Were people sceptic about what we did here at Moksh? Was there any fear regarding the police
that gave them a sense of risk in participation? Even if death was helpless and had failed in
ceasing human sufferings, should I hope to see the horizon in the near future?

With emotions he remembered how his volunteers despite their personal financial difficulties
contribute to the cause. Cognitively he was trying to figure out how potential volunteers
could contribute in his endeavour. He was disturbed with the thought:
With poor net earnings in the families, how would potential volunteers or for that matter my
present volunteers at Moksh would contribute for this cause when survival of their own family in
itself a challenge? But in absence of not many coming to support the endeavour, who would take
a call?

His reflections and dialectics on the impact of socio-cultural stereotypes on the endeavours
of Moksh were complex and pressing. They had the potential to influence the functioning
and future of his NGO, and poignantly these reflections and dialectics were not enough; he
also had operational issues to handle.

Operational issues
As Moksh was not a profit-making endeavour, Ashish had limitations that only allowed him
to work with those who would cooperate in the endeavour selflessly. Given the scenario, he
could not use money as a motivator to the volunteers, and it was money that was needed to
run the endeavour. Gradually volunteers in Moksh started finding it difficult to carry on with
the cause.
Along with various difficulties, as the work at Moksh was increasing, one of the most
significant constraints was the vehicle required to carry the dead bodies from the hospital to
the cremation ground. They usually hired mini trucks to carry the dead bodies to the
cremation ground. The constant hiring of the mini trucks added to the expenses. The
average fixed cost per trip through mini truck incurred by Moksh was Rs 450. Volunteers at
Moksh thought about the possibility of procuring a mini truck of their own, but this was
estimated to cost them Rs 400,000.
In situations where the police sought support from Moksh, and the cadavers remained
unidentified, Moksh maintained that to give a respectful adieu to the departed soul, it was

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 essential and obligatory that last rites and rituals be performed based on the religion of the
departed soul. As dead bodies of Christian or Islamic followers should not be cremated the
way Hindus are, Ashish made efforts to seek the land from the local municipal corporation
for burial purposes. As this awarded land was situated near a residential area in the city,
local protests caused hindrance in the continuation of these practices. The functioning of
Moksh was affected as they no longer had any space for the burials. Later, the Moksh team
managed to overcome this problem by finding a small piece of land near the Narmada
River. However, as the burial land was exhausted over the years, team Moksh yet again
faced the problem of finding land for burials.
Ashish and his team were in a fix again where not only did they have to find the burial space
but also were challenged to find volunteers who could support them in this endeavour. The
situation immediately called for a meeting where Ashish had to find solutions for the
difficulties he was facing. The activities in the organization that Ashish had put all the hard
work into were shrinking.

Notes
1. Translated in English as Human Salvation and Life Advancement Committee (Moksh). Moksh
meaning salvation.
2. DB Star (2020, May 03). Aakhri safar bhi gumnaam. Dainik Bhaskar, p. 2. Retrieved from https://
epaper.bhaskarhindi.com/2657429/Jabalpur-DB-Star/%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%B2%
E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0-%E0%A4%A1%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%80-%
E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0#page/2/1
3. Pareek (2015, November 12). From Cremating Dead Bodies to Tackling Sewage – Guddu Baba
Did It All for a Clean Ganga. Retrieved from www.thebetterindia.com/34846/guddu-baba-clean-
ganga-patna-vikas-chandra/ (accessed on 8 May 2020).
4. PTI (2013, November 13). Unclaimed dead bodies be given decent disposal: Supreme Court.
Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/unclaimed-dead-
bodies-be-given-decent-disposal-supreme-court/articleshow/26370200.cms?utm_source=content
ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (accessed on 5 May 2020).
5. For details, please refer Chaturvedi (2002)
6. For details, please refer Safran et al. (2018).
7. Vamacharic ascetic Shaiva sadhus who engaged themselves praying Lord Siva and their practices
are considered contradictory to orthodox Hinduism. For details, please refer Bowker (1993).
8. Vamacharic ascetic Shaiva sadhus who engaged themselves praying to Lord Siva and their
practices are considered contradictory to orthodox Hinduism (Bowker, 1993).
9. https://aidindia.org/
10. Source: Based on the work from thevisualcommunication. For details, please log on to https://
thevisualcommunicationguy.com/business-communication/advertising-appeals-overview/

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Sharma, D. Pt. (2016), “Know does evil get stronger on Amavasya with Dr Pt. Diwakar Sharma”, available
at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=orSmOZDAsoQ (accessed 8 June 2019).

Srivastava. S. (2016), “Never visit ’shamshan’ at this time of the day, if you wish to avoid the wrath of
goddess kali”, available at: www.speakingtree.in/allslides/never-visit-shmashana-ghat-at-this-time-of-
the-day-if-you-wish-to-avoid-the-wrath-of-goddeskalis://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orSmOZDAsoQ
(accessed 1 June 2019).
Taniparti, N. (2018), “The worries of ‘log kya kahenge?’ on mental health”, available at: https://thewire.in/
health/social-factors-behind-the-stigma-that-surrounds-mental-health-in-india (accessed 1 June, 2019).

Thakur, P. (2014), “Significance of amavasya”, available at: www.speakingtree.in/blog/significance-of-

amavasya (accessed 1 June 2019).

Further reading
Safran, P, Wan J. and Hardy C. (2018). The Nun [New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions, The
Safran Company], CA.

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 Exhibit 1. Cremation practices in India (followed by Moksh)

Table E1
S. No. Community Rites Rituals

1. Hinduism Cremation Bathing the cadaver/sometimes bathing is difficult on account of post-mortem.

Hence only water sprinkling is performed
Dressing in new clothes at home with mantras
The cadaver is tied to the bier and taken to the crematorium in an open casket.
Procession lead by one of the volunteers
The volunteer then performs necessary rituals leading to Mukhagni (that is
generally performed by eldest son/father)
Mukhagni ritual follows when the fire is put into the mouth of the corpse on the
pyre made up of logs of wood, at the cremation ground
Prayers for the salvation of the departed soul (Moksha) (good afterlife)
Offering condolences for 2 min
Ashes flew in the nearest holy river such as the Narmada
Traditionally, women are generally not allowed, but with times, this ritual has
changed
Children whose thread ceremonies are not performed are buried
2. Islamic Burial Sharīʿah (Islamic religious law) demands burial of the body at the earliest
Bathing the cadaver/sometimes bathing is difficult on account of post-mortem.
Cadaver took in the closed casket to the burial ground
Each visitor throws three handfuls of dust in the graveyard
Prayers, condolences and silence
40 days mourning
3. Sikh Cremation The Sikh funeral is known as Antam Sanskaar
(Antim Sanskaar) Rituals are quite similar to Hinduism; however, specific attention is given to five
faiths of articles. These five faiths include hair, small wooden comb,
undergarment, iron bracelet and sword
An open casket is preferred to take cadaver to the cremation ground
Recital of Ardas, community prayers continue
Ashes generally flew in nearest holy Narmada River
4. Christian Burial The Christian rites include burial of a deceased person in a blessed ground
As the concept of resurrection is essential, cremation is not allowed
Graveyard services begin with the offering of prayer initiated by the father from
the church
Readings and sermon are initiated
Remembrances by ministers
Moment of silence
5. Buddhist Cremation Buddhists generally favour cremation, but embalming is allowed
Cremation procedures are like Hinduism; however, Buddhist traditions are
followed that include a wake, placing altar, Buddha near the altar
The monk chants the Buddhist verses throughout
6. Jainism Cremation Bathing the cadaver/sometimes bathing is difficult on account of post-mortem.
Near cadaver, Swastika is importantly placed
Unlike Hindus and other religions, flowers are avoided, and sandalwood
garlands are preferred
The funeral begins amid religious rituals of reciting stavans/bhajans. Over fresh
flowers to harm living beings
The cadaver is tied to the bier and taken to the crematorium
Namokar mantra is recited while the pyre made up of logs of wood is lit
7. Unidentified religion Attempts are made Cremated as per the law
to identify religion if
possible

As memorial services were not possible, Moksh organized once in a month free food
distribution for destitute and needy people at various shelter homes. Collective prayers are
performed at various temples, mosques and churches.

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Exhibit 2. Monthly expenditure data of the NGO and the cost of transportation

Table E2
S. No. Year Month No. of volunteers No. of cremation Cost incurred in rupees

1 2015 August 4 6 9,000

2 September 5 7 10,500
3 November 7 4 6,000
4 December 7 2 3,000
5 2016 January 6 4 6,000
6 February 6 7 10,500
7 March 6 6 9,000
8 April 7 3 4,500
9 May 7 4 6,000
10 2017 August 7 8 12,000
11 September 7 7 10,500
12 October 6 11 16,500
13 November 6 9 13,500
14 December 6 30 45,000
15 2018 January 4 13 19,500
16 February 4 9 13,500
17 March 4 9 13,500
18 April 4 6 9,000
19 May 4 11 6,500
20 June 4 15 22,500
Source: Primary data gathered from Manav Moksh Seva Evam Jan Utthan Samitee (Moksh), Jabalpur

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 Exhibit 3. Social communication made by Moksh

Figure E1

Exhibit 4

Indian social dynamics and stereotypes related to dealing with unclaimed dead
bodies
Indian society consists primarily of individuals coming from communities such as Hindus,
Jains, Islamic, Buddhist, Sikhism, Christianity and Parsi. Indian society comprehends
diversity belonging to different cultural, language, regional, economic, religious, class and
caste groups (Jacobson, 2004). Although that Indians value high for amicability, they are
highly conscious of their social image (Taniparti, 2018). The hierarchical equations of upper
class–lower class, caste system and touchable–untouchable still prevail to haunt India
(Laungani, 2006) and all possibilities that it might deter individuals in India from joining in
performing the rites and rituals in case of unidentified and unclaimed dead bodies.
Arnold (2016) explained the deep-rooted socio-religious cremation and burial practices
followed in India. Given the case of Moksh, it may be essential to understand several social
dynamics:

1. Religious dynamics:
䊏 There can be possibilities of segregating unclaimed dead bodies based on their
religion. Mostly Hindus, Jains, Sikh and Buddhists are cremated while Muslims
and Christians are buried. Parsis in early days were exposed to a pole of silence,

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 but now, most of the community volunteers have accepted burials (Jacobson,
2004). However, with unclaimed and or mutilated dead bodies, it is challenging to
identify religion. Bhandari (2016) suggested that the process of identifying religion
in dead men is comparatively more natural than in identifying in females.
Therefore, customarily, sometimes identification of unclaimed dead body
becomes a complicated process.
2. Effect of horror movies and impact on psyche:
䊏 Indians typically find the work of cremation to be work of virtue. Thanks to the
genre of horror movies that have changed their perceptions when it comes to
understanding cremation as a process under religious or cultural light (Thakur,
2014). There are several stereotypes associated with cremation. For example:

– Srivastava (2016) suggested that crematory grounds are the abode of

ghosts, evil spirits, fierce deities and aghoris; therefore, one should not visit
them on certain times of the day, as the human body is too weak to fight off
with evil spirit during those time.
– Sharma (2016) warns not visiting cremation grounds on specific days such
as amavasya (lunar phase of the new moon). Considering the belief that evil
spirits are most influential during the lunar phase of the new moon, most of
the Indians find it inauspicious. Many Indians believe that black magic
prevails and mostly cremation grounds are the centre of such activities, they
find it scary to visit cremation or burial grounds on these days. Considering
such beliefs, Moksh finds it challenging to associate with people.
– Understand that people believe that dead bodies have some kind of aura
around them (Illich, 2004) that deter people from participating in funerals.
They believe that the risk of being affected will be more if the deceased had
passed away under painful or anonymous conditions (Chaturvedi, 2002).
3. Roles of authorities:
䊏 Arnold (2016) mentioned about mounting dependence on municipal authorities for
the cremation of the unclaimed dead bodies. Over the years, the cases of
unclaimed dead bodies have set to have legal implications, and hence, people
avoid their involvement in such implications.
4. Dynamics of social inequalities:
䊏 Perceived social inequalities also deter people from being participative in such
endeavours. Those who classify society hierarchically with upper and lower class
typify their acts with the mindset of not being the part of the funeral of someone
who belongs to lower communities. In the case of Moksh, as the unclaimed bodies
are unidentified, it becomes a question for many to be part of such endeavour or
not.

1. Poor earning:
䊏 India’s per capita income stood at Rs 1.13 lakhs in the financial year ending March
2018, which reduces to ` 9,400 per month for an average Indian. With this
insignificant amount, how would they contribute to a social cause when the
survival of their family is itself a challenge.
2. Bystander apathy:
䊏 Latané and Darley (1969) explained bystander apathy to be the phenomenon
where the presence of a higher number of people dilutes the sense of helping
others in distress or being compassionate, and in case few witnesses in a situation
are more likely to assume responsibilities in a similar scenario. Every society faces
issues of bystander apathy, and so does society in India. Latané and Darley

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 (1969) explained how bystander apathy influences helping behaviour during
emergencies in social situations. These emergencies have the following
characteristics:

– Emergencies have the potential to adversely affect individuals. Given the

above facts, when individuals see the risk of being in the legal, financial,
social, religious and cultural hustle, they tend to avoid being part of such
activities.
– Emergencies are unusual and are rare event. Invitation to be a part of the
funeral and funding the same is also unusual and rare event for many.
– Emergencies are divergent, and individuals tend to respond to such
divergent emergencies with the cultural clues they accrue. Sometimes
these cultural clues bring in coldness to act towards the situations. We have
typically discussed the socio-cultural paradigms in India and typified
mindset of Indians that possibly might deter them from participating in such
endeavours.
– Emergencies are unexpected. In our case, as the unexpected case of death
or information to police, or stereotyped view that police might not support in
the endeavour or would harass the complainant might be toll taking for one.
The unexpected incidences or the fate under uncertainty, therefore, make
one avoid risk-taking and respond.
– Emergencies require quick action, and it signifies insistent necessities. Fear
of wrongdoing or harming unintentionally while acting fast may deter people
from participating in such social endeavours. In our case, possibly
individuals in society are a sceptic of their prosocial acts and possibly
believe that their actions might harm the deceased or themselves if any. A
typical question may be what if the deceased did not attain Moksha? What if
something went missing? And so on.

Corresponding author
Nikhil K. Mehta can be contacted at: nkm@nitie.ac.in

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