Saharsa: In a shocking incident of superstition reported from Bihar, a family was ostracised by the villagers for not arranging “funeral feast” in Saharsa disrict of the state, local sources said. Sources said that Nityanand Bhagat, father of advocate Ajay Azad, who is averse to social evils since for long, passed away recently. After his father's death, Ajay Azad, along with his two brothers Vijay Bhagat and Dr. Shashi Bhagat took a big call not to hold the 'funeral feast' trraditionally held by the villagers for the deceased.
However, the society, instead of appreciating the advocate's move, erupted in anger against the decision and the family has been ostracized from the society, sources said. Besides Ajay Azad, the second son Vijay Bhagat deals in grain buying and selling while the eldest son Shashi Bhagat used to study in JNU Delhi and is doing PhD in Brazil. Sources said that the last rites of the deceased were performed after the eldest son Shashi returned from Brazil.
However, when the three brothers told the villagers about their decision to shun the practice of funeral feast, the latter socially boycotted them saying that the feast was “mandatory”. The villagers, “hurt” by Ajay Azad's decision, clearly said that it was “mandatory to perform the last rites”. “By violating all these rules, he has broken the social tradition due to which the society has ostracized him,” said Dilip Sharma, a local who was present at the spot.
"Not having a funeral is a different thing, but it was mandatory to perform the last rites for the peace of the soul of the deceased. There was pressure from the society regarding this program which became the reason for the protest,” a villager said. Following the social boycott, the second eldest brother Vijay Bhagat decided to follow the tradition. He not only got his hair shaved but also decided to have a death feast and served a feast to the entire society for one day.
But eldest brother Ajay and the youngest Shashi remained steadfast in their decision against the social evil and refused to accept any ritual and remained firm on their previous decision. "We did not perform any funeral rites after my father's death. We held a memorial meeting on the ninth day and did not organize any other program. However, there was opposition to it as well. New actions are always opposed,” said eldest son Ajay Azad.
Azad said that he has been averse to social evils and the money spend on the rituals could be used for education.
