In a moving testament to Kerala’s enduring legacy of compassion and communal harmony, a Muslim ward member from Kadinamkulam in Thiruvananthapuram has been widely praised for performing the last rites of a Hindu woman who had no family to turn to in her final moments.
Real Kerala Story
The deceased, Rakhi (44), a native of Chhattisgarh, had been living at the Benedict Menni Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Centre in Chittattumukku for several years, reported South First. A survivor of mental illness, she had later developed cancer and was being cared for by nuns at the centre. Before her death on Friday, Rakhi expressed a simple final wish—to be cremated according to Hindu rituals.
But when she passed away, her relatives were nowhere to be found. Her brother and daughter are reportedly undergoing treatment for mental health conditions, leaving the nuns uncertain about how to proceed. Seeking help, they reached out to local Congress leader and Kadinamkulam grama panchayat ward member, T. Safeer, who immediately stepped forward to fulfill Rakhi’s last wish.
This was not the first time Safeer had taken such an initiative. He had earlier performed the last rites of three other women inmates of the centre—two Hindus and one Muslim—who too had no relatives to perform their funerals, reported Deccan Herald. Videos and photos of his act of kindness, shared by friends on social media, quickly went viral, sparking an outpouring of admiration from across Kerala and beyond.
Many users described it as the “real Kerala story,” highlighting how the state continues to embody values of humanity and coexistence at a time when communal tensions elsewhere often dominate headlines.
Safeer’s gesture, though simple, has struck a deep chord—serving as a reminder that compassion transcends boundaries of faith and that small acts of humanity can inspire society at large.
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