India, Feb. 5 -- Death is a universal human experience, yet the ways societies honour and remember the dead vary widely across cultures. Opposition to traditional death rituals is a complex phenomenon, shaped by aspirations for individual freedom, financial practicality, scientific temperament, and resistance to rigid, often patriarchal, religious and social norms. Critics have long regarded many such rituals as outdated, emotionally burdensome, or rooted more in superstition than in genuine comfort.

Among the most resolute opponents of orthodox rituals was Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, social reformer, educationist, and editor. A fierce rationalist, Agarkar was guided by reason and critical inquiry rather than convention.

He devoted his life t...