Indian ‘bone factories’

A recent article in Wired  gives interesting details of India’s ‘bone factories’, where large quantities of illicitly obtained human skeletons are prepared for illegal export to eager western medical institutions prepared to turn a blind eye to ethics.

Although the export of human remains was made illegal in India in 1985, the black market is apparently still flourishing. Although the majority of Indian deceased are cremated, groups such as Muslims and many children are not. Grave robbing, particularly from remote village areas, therefore provides a large source of the remains, but the article also describes one collector, who worked as a caretaker of a village cremation ground, and  ‘would drag the deceased from the flames as soon as the families left.’

According to the article, police only investigate and prosecute grave robbers when the bodies involved are of ‘important people’ - “we are trying to implement the law based on the stress society places on it… society does not see this as a very serious thing.” Of course in reality the situation is that most of the victimised communities are very poor politically powerless, and often predominantly lower-caste or tribal. If these groups gain greater rights and power over time, there is bound to be some kind of backlash here, and possibly even claims for repatriation and even reparation.

Published: 1.19.08 / 8pm
Tags: human remains, india