Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Wednesday, November 11, praised two Muslim brothers who performed the last rites of an 85-year-old Hindu woman they had cared for as their mother for nearly five decades in Wayanad district.
“This is the Keralam I know, love and believe in,” Satheesan wrote on X, sharing the story of Razak and Sulaiman, which had been reported by the media a day earlier.
The brothers performed the funeral rituals of Kalyani Amma, who had no children or other relatives, according to Hindu customs after she died at Chithragiri in Muppainad panchayat, family sources said.
Razak and Sulaiman, along with their family, had been Kalyani Amma’s neighbours for nearly 50 years. Over the decades, they developed a close bond with her and looked after her daily needs, arranged medicines and accompanied her to hospitals when necessary.
Kalyani Amma was also part of their family celebrations, and their relationship grew stronger over the years. She had expressed the wish that the two brothers, whom she considered her sons, should perform her last rites after her death.
Respecting her wish, the brothers lit her funeral pyre and carried out the final rituals at a local Hindu crematorium.
In his post, Satheesan said the brothers had “fulfilled the woman’s final wish with the love and dignity of her own sons”.
“A mother’s love does not check religion. A son’s duty does not ask about caste. And grief, like love, belongs to all of us equally,” he wrote.
Calling the incident an example of Kerala’s spirit, the Chief Minister said the state was a place where “love knows no religion, compassion knows no caste, and humanity brings us together”.
“We are all one. Let this grand spirit of Keralam inspire the whole of India,” he added.
