‘Dom Raja’ (king of cremators) Jagdish Chaudhary of Varanasi passed away on Tuesday at the age of 55.
Soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to express his condolences over death.
Prime Minister Modi tweeted “Extremely saddened by the demise of Dom Raja Jagdish Chaudhary of Varanasi. He settled in the culture of Kashi and was the conductor of the Sanatan tradition there. He worked for social harmony throughout his life. May God give peace to his soul and give the family the strength to bear this suffering”.
वाराणसी के डोम राजा जगदीश चौधरी जी के निधन से अत्यंत दुख पहुंचा है। वे काशी की संस्कृति में रचे-बसे थे और वहां की सनातन परंपरा के संवाहक रहे। उन्होंने जीवनपर्यंत सामाजिक समरसता के लिए काम किया। ईश्वर उनकी आत्मा को शांति प्रदान करे और परिजनों को इस पीड़ा को सहने की शक्ति दे।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2020
Jagdish Chaudhary was one of persons who proposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the candidate from Varanasi for 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He had accompanied PM Modi last year to the Varanasi collectorate during the filing of nomination papers.
Dom Raja’s family have been lighting pyres at the Manikarnika and Harischandra Ghats in Varanasi for generations.