Kashi's Dom Raja passes away

Varanasi, Aug 25 (IANS) The Dom Raja of Kashi, Jagdish Chaudhary, passed away on Tuesday. He was 55 and had been ailing for some time.The Dom Raja was one of the proposers for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last Lok Sabha elections.Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has condoled the death of the Dom Raja.In a message, the Chief Minister said that his spiritual guru, late Mahant Avaidyanath, had shared a meal at the home of the Dom Raja in order to send a strong message against untouchability.The Dom Raja of Kashi, as the head of his Chaudhary clan, which considers itself the most exalted among the Dom sub-castes, is considered the chief keeper of the fire burning uninterrupted at Varanasi's Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats, which are reserved for cremation.It is believed that if the pyre is lit by the Dom Raja's clan, the dead achieve salvation.
--IANS amita/dpb/bg