Heeralal Barhai says he has cremated or buried 322 corpses so far and not for once has he faltered over the religious identity of the deceased person.

He declares himself to be a proud Indian and as his beloved nation turns 76, Barhai wishes for one thing, amity among his fellow citizens.A resident of a slum in Barrackpore, on the outskirts of Calcutta, Barhai was an artisan in his heyday. But his claim to fame in the neighbourhood is by his practice of volunteering to help in funerals.

“I’ve cremated or buried both Hindus and Muslims. I’ve set up wooden pyres as well as dug graves. All that matters is that I’ve been able to help,” Barhai said.Asked what drove him to accompany funeral processions, Barhai said he was “addicted” to helping people.

“The only condition for me to be there is that I won’t be offered any food or money. If I start taking things in exchange, people will think that I do this for greed,” he said.

Speaking to this correspondent, Barhai said he had always felt proud about being an Indian. However, the recent incidents of communal disharmony and attacks on members of the minority community worry him.As Indian independence turned 76 on Monday, Barhai hoped that leaders of the country ceased to pit Hindus against Muslims on the pretext of opposing Pakistan.

“They (political leaders) are pitting brothers against brothers in the name of Pakistan. This needs to stop. There must be amity between the two communities,” Barhai told this correspondent.

Heeralal Barhai

“Har ghar dosti is what I wish above anything else,” Barhai said echoing the Narendra Modi’s government’s Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.Barhai’s neighbour Binod Ram’s father passed away about 10 days ago. Barhai had participated in the funeral.Ram’s wife couldn’t thank Barhai enough for his help. When this correspondent asked for her name, she said she was Reshma Begum. As the name suggests, she is a Muslim married to a Hindu.Begum said her religious identity or that of her husband had never been a problem. “Neither our families nor our neighbours have ever had any problem with our religious identities,” Begum said.

A few kilometres away, Biswanath Bera made a similar wish as Barhai. The 72-year-old rickshaw-puller keeps images of the Goddess Durga, Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ and Muslim saints at a small altar in the corner of his one-room house.Bera said he had twice been to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah among other pilgrimages. “When I went to Rajasthan, I visited both Ajmer Dargah and the temple in Pushkar. I’ve been to the pilgrimages of all religions,” Bera said.

“I hope all the conflicts in the name of religion come to an end,” he said when asked to make a wish on the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.