Whatever the agenda of the media may be…does it exempt the people handling the bodies from using tact and common sense? Does it exempt them from being professional about the situation? NO, it doesn’t.
Yes, Kaafir means someone who denies/disbelieves. The word “Pagan” ALSO refers to those that are considered polytheists or disbelievers. But picture a coffin labeled as “Pagan”…does it sound okay? How about “Infidel”…? Does it sound right? I think for many people…something inside their conscience won’t sit well with this.
Someone on the first page of this thread had mentioned that the coffin form lists the religion of the deceased before the body is delivered to the family. The guy’s name is Premchand…obvious that he’s a Hindu…so why not just write “Hindu” instead? It’s not a tedious task…the word “Hindu” has less letters than the word, “Kaafir”…it’s less likely to be cause a stir…it’s more specific… and certainly more professional. Why even bother labeling the coffin at all? There are other ways of differentiation.