Poonam Sharma
The Business of Death—Dubbed ‘Science’
Kolkata—once hailed as the city of culture and spirituality—was, at one time, also the epicenter of one of the world’s most macabre illicit trades. From 1940 to 1985, an international trade in human skeletons—conducted in the name of medical science—flourished here in a manner that brought shame upon humanity. The corpses of the poor, hospital morgues, orphaned children, and ‘unclaimed’ bodies—all became integral parts of this gruesome industry. How Lal Bazar transformed Kolkata into a global hub for the supply of skeletons for medical science by 1985: From 1940 to 1985, the largest black market for human skeletons—destined for medical colleges across the globe—was located in Kolkata (then Calcutta).
Every year, approximately 60,000 to 70,000 human bodies were boiled, treated with acid, and shipped overseas. While this entire process was ostensibly justified as an ‘educational necessity’ for science, it was, in reality, a deeply exploitative and cruel form of ‘necro-capitalism.’ Yet, the greatest hypocrisy, deceit, and cruelty of this dark chapter in history lay concealed behind two prominent ‘humanitarian’ facades.
In that very same city, during that very same era, the world’s most celebrated spiritual icon—Mother Teresa—and her ‘Home for Dying Destitutes’ were actively operating; on the other side stood the Leftist (Communist) government of West Bengal, led by Jyoti Basu.
The Ultimate Mockery of Mother Teresa’s ‘Dignified Death’: Religious Branding vs. the Thriving Marketplace
Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity established ‘Nirmal Hriday’ (Home for Dying Destitutes) at Kalighat, Calcutta, in 1952. Globally, it was branded as an organization that rescues the destitute, orphans, and the dying poor from the streets, offering them a “dignified death” in their final moments. However, the horrifying truth lurking behind this facade—and its nexus with a parallel market for human skeletons—is truly spine-chilling:
The System’s Blessing or Tacit Consent
The corpses of thousands of impoverished individuals were trafficked from roadsides, orphanages, and hospital morgues to the city’s skeleton market—all within the very same city that hosted a powerful international network led by Mother Teresa: an institution that received billions of dollars in donations from the world’s wealthiest Western nations.
The Commercialization of Poverty:
Mother Teresa’s organization leveraged poverty and suffering to construct a spiritual empire across the globe; yet, after death, the very corpses of these same poor people were commodified and sold to Western nations for profit. While the crates of skeletons shipped abroad bore the label “Ethically Sourced,” the city’s overarching reputation for “humanitarian service” served as a silent legal shield, effectively insulating this illicit trade from scrutiny.
2. The Leftist Government’s Proletarian Hypocrisy: Ruling on the Blood and Bones of the Exploited
Since 1977, the Left (Communist) government led by Jyoti Basu has held power in West Bengal. The very party that decimated the state’s economy—by parroting the policies of Karl Marx, waving red flags, and chanting slogans like “Long Live the Proletariat” and “Down with Capitalism”—was, in reality, presiding over the largest and most organized manifestation of the world’s most brutal, unethical, and exploitative capitalist industry.
Institutional Patronage and Corruption:
This trade in human skeletons did not take place in some clandestine tunnel. In several neighborhoods surrounding Calcutta’s medical colleges, a thriving black market had emerged—operating openly—where the gruesome business of stripping flesh from corpses and separating the bones was conducted in plain sight. The entire network operated through direct corruption and bribery involving local leftist cadres, the police, and the Health Department.
The Murder of the Poor Under the Guise of the ‘Unclaimed’:
The leftist government legalized this illicit trade by issuing official licenses to ‘corpse suppliers.’ The regulation stipulated that only ‘unclaimed’ (bodies without surviving kin) corpses could be utilized. However, mafia gangs bribed government officials within hospitals—as well as the police—to procure and sell the bodies of poor individuals who had died natural deaths or were undergoing medical treatment on the black market. The very government that professed to champion the rights of the poor was, in reality, levying taxes on their corpses and engaging in their commercial trade.
3. The Trade in Children’s Skeletons: When Murder for Greed Became Easy
The most repulsive, heart-wrenching, and darkest chapter in this entire history was the smuggling of children’s skeletons. There was an immense demand for these remains in medical research to study the structural anatomy of children’s bones; consequently, their market value was two to three times higher than that of an adult skeleton.
In 1985, the eyes of the entire world turned toward Calcutta when a massive consignment—containing approximately 1,500 individual children’s skeletons ready for export—was seized in an area near the city. It was statistically impossible for 1,500 children to have died of natural causes simultaneously. This revelation exposed a horrific truth: these skeletons were not merely exhumed from graves; they were also amassed by a ‘skeleton mafia’ and smugglers who murdered orphans or kidnapped children solely for financial gain.
This tragedy unfolded while science was being taught on the foundation of such ruthless murders; while organizations like that of Mother Teresa were preoccupied with their own religious propaganda; and while a leftist government—which purported to be a champion of public welfare—silently shielded these perpetrators instead of intervening to stop them. After 1985, the Government of India tightened restrictions on the export of human skeletons, and gradually, this trade came to a halt. Yet, this dark chapter of history continues to raise questions to this day—
Can the value of humanity ever be so cheap in the name of science? And—in connection with that very Mother Teresa—what is the significance of Marco Rubio visiting India, traveling to Calcutta, and engaging with this Christian missionary charity?
