Kerala: Daughter wants Christian burial for 'atheist' Marxist father

Comrade MM Lawrence's life is a legend, deeply intertwined with Kerala's trade union movement. At 94, he might have expected a farewell draped in red, befitting the life he led. But his younger daughter has moved the High Court seeking a Christian burial for her ‘atheist’ father.

It might sound like a family dispute between siblings, as two of Lawrence’s living children and the CPI(M) wanted his body to be handed over to the Medical College Hospital, Kochi, but there was more to this family drama.

Lawrence’s final days

Lawrence spent his final days in hospital under the care of his elder son, ML Sajeevan, a lawyer and party worker, and his daughter Sujatha Boban, with support from party comrades in Ernakulam, before passing away on September 22.

Sajeevan and CPI(M) district secretary CN Mohanan had informed the media about the plans for Lawrence’s final public viewing and the handover of his body to the medical college as per his wishes.

However, the situation took a dramatic turn when his estranged younger daughter, Asha ML, insisted that he should be buried next to their mother in a church cemetery.

Daughter’s vocal objection

The controversy reached its peak when Asha approached the Kerala High Court, challenging her brother's decision, claiming that it was made unilaterally without consulting the family.

She expressed her dismay that the CPI(M) had intervened in the matter, with party leader Mohanan reportedly supporting the decision to donate the body.

Asha argued that her father, while a devoted member of the CPI(M), was not opposed to religious beliefs, including Christianity, and did not express any desire to donate his body to science, either verbally or in his recently published autobiography.

Asha’s dramatic scenes

The situation became more heated on Monday when Asha, accompanied by her son, created dramatic scenes at the Ernakulam Town Hall where her father’s mortal remains were kept for public homage.

They barged into the hall, raising slogans against the CPI(M) and accusing the party of using Lawrence's body to uphold an image of atheism that did not align with his personal beliefs.

Tensions escalated quickly, and police had to remove Asha and her son from the premises to restore order.

Lawrence’s final wish

According to Sajeevan, Lawrence had orally conveyed to him that he wanted his body donated for medical research, a move that aligns with the CPI(M)’s secular, atheist principles.

"I'm not going into the ulterior motives of my sister at this point, but I will say she’s being influenced by some RSS leaders. It's widely known that she’s aligned with the Sangh Parivar, and this whole spectacle is aimed at tarnishing the image of the CPI(M),” he said.

He went on: “The influence of RSS-BJP leaders is evident in her writings on social media. Everyone knows the life our father lived — he was neither a churchgoer nor a believer, though he had no issue with those who were.

Daughter versus siblings

“You all know what he thought of our sister, and that’s already public. This was his wish, which he personally conveyed to me and I communicated to the party," said Sajeevan.

Asha strongly denied this, stating that her father never made such a statement. She believes that this decision was politically motivated to project Lawrence as a strict atheist in line with party ideology, rather than reflecting his personal religious inclinations.

The court, hearing Asha’s petition, directed the principal of the Government Medical College, Kalamassery, to review the objections raised by Asha before making any further decisions on how the body should be handled.

What the law says

At present, the government has stated that Lawrence's body will be preserved for some time at the medical college after it is taken over, and no immediate action regarding burial or donation will be required.

As per The Kerala Anatomy Act, if a person, during his last illness, either in writing or orally, in the presence of two or more persons, expresses a request that his body be used to conduct anatomical examination and dissection after his death, the party in possession of his body may, unless there is reason to believe the request was subsequently withdrawn, report the fact to an authorized officer and permit him to take the body to be given to a teaching medical institution.

Running feud in family

This isn’t the first time Asha has clashed with relatives. In 2004, she accused her late father, MM Lawrence, and her siblings of confining their mother against her will, a claim that was later proven false.

During the Sabarimala controversy, Asha’s son, Mithun Immanuel Joseph, attended a BJP protest led by state president PS Sreedharan Pillai, generating headlines about the family of a veteran CPI(M) leader opposing Pinarayi's government.

In 2021, Asha again accused her siblings of treating their father against his wishes, prompting Lawrence to publicly disown her in a Facebook post.

When Lawrence disowned daughter

”Of my four children, my daughter Asha, who had been estranged from me for years, visited me recently, seemingly to re-establish ties. However, she has since started a smear campaign, using photos taken without my consent,” he said in a Facebook post on May 21, 2021.

“Asha, who has caused me much distress both in my personal and public life, accused my dear comrades, CN Mohanan and (Congress leader) Ajay Tharayil, when they came to visit me, using her identity as ‘daughter’. Neither she nor her son has earned any other legitimate standing.

CPI(M) leaders who donated bodies

“My other children, who maintain a close relationship with me, along with caring relatives and party leaders, are being relentlessly attacked by Asha with misleading claims. However, Asha has never done anything for my well-being. I urge you to dismiss Asha's smear campaign, driven by her current alignment with the Sangh Parivar forces that aim to dismantle the Communist Party, with the disdain it deserves,” he said.

Recently, several CPI(M) leaders have donated their bodies to medical research, including former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury, and Kerala's central committee member MC Josephine.