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Open Air Hindu Cremation Issue in Britain

Cremation laws in the United Kingdom do not permit open air cremations like the one practiced in Hinduism. A recent attempt to establish an open air cremation site was blocked by the Newcastle City Council. Davender Kumar Ghai, a 68-year-old practicing Hindu, challenged the council order in the court and demanded the right to be cremated on an open-air pyre when he died.

A High Court has approved to take up the Judicial Review petition. But no date has been set for the Judicial Review petition.

Times of India reports

Davendar Kumar Ghai, founder and president of the Anglo-Asian Friendship Society, created headlines last July when he arranged the first human funeral pyre in Britain since the Home Office authorised the outdoor cremation of Sumshere Jung, a Nepalese princess and the wife of the Napalese ambassador in Woking in 1934.

If the High Court disagrees, Ghai's case will be pursued on a human rights basis. "Only if the law is made clear in favour of pyres can I incorporate a clause into my will that would complete a lifetime spiritual journey as a proud and active British Hindu," said Ghai.