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The story of two Muslim men cremating a Hindu victim of COVID-19 at the Bhopal cremation site has gone viral.
Danish Siddiqui and Saddam Qurashi, both residents of Bhopal, have performed the final rites of coronavirus victims since the new wave swept through the country, without worrying for their own safety.
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So far, they have cremated around 60 COVID-19 victims whose families have skipped funerals for fear of infection.
Some families are unable to perform the final rites due to regulations regarding corpses and cremation sites.
In times of such trials, Denmark and Saddam have been able to break down the boundaries of caste and religion that have gripped Indian society for years.
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Despite fasting during Ramadan, the two of them regularly visit the hospital and transport corpses to the cremation site.
The two's acts of kindness have drawn praise from across the country on social media.
Good job Saddam and Denmark We need more people like you in India, wrote @digpolicebhopal.
Saddam Qurashi & Danish Siddiqui from Bhopal have cremated nearly 60 bodies of Hindus who died from # Covid-19. When the relatives refused to touch the body, the Muslim duo chose to cremate it, wrote the @vinodkapri account.
This comes a day after BJP leaders in Vadodra objected to the presence of Muslim volunteers at the city's Khaswadi crematorium - where the bodies of COVID-19 patients piled up after India was hit by a second wave of coronavirus.
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The incident came to light on April 16, 2021, when "several BJP leaders from the party's Vadodara unit, including its president Dr Vijay Shah, had reached the crematorium to participate in the party leader's final rites."
The leaders objected to the presence of a Muslim man who had prepared a pile of wood for burial. Shah told The Indian Express that Muslims should not perform religious rituals.
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