Tarek Fatah was known in life for how controversial his takes could get. He called himself a ‘secular Muslim’ and had strongly criticised Pakistan’s idea of an islamic state, winning fans and detractors in equal numbers.

Multiple news outlets, especially from India, shared a quote from him that could capture what his ideas were.

I am an Indian born in Pakistan, a Punjabi born in Islam; an immigrant in Canada with a Muslim consciousness, grounded in a Marxist youth. I am one of Salman Rushdie’s many Midnight’s Children: we were snatched from the cradle of a great civilization and made permanent refugees, sent in search of an oasis that turned out to be a mirage.

People in Pakistan did not have kind things to say about the author’s passing, but tributes flowed in from the Indian side. Meanwhile, Fatah made one last act of controversy that would generate headlines - he was cremated.

His daughter, Natasha Fatah, made the announcement on Twitter and said that the cremation happened while being surrounded by ‘closest family and friends’.

While a debate and outrage understandably ensued, she pulled out an old tweet from Fatah himself.

‘Dust to dust, ashes to ashes’ is a reference to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, that mentions cremation as a way to ‘commit ashes to the ground’. The practice is forbidden in Islam as a violation of the human body, but is accepted as a funeral in Hinduism.

Fatah’s clear expression of his intentions to be cremated is important. Pakistani poet Noon Meem Rashid was cremated when he died in 1975 based on an alleged reference in his will. Year’s later, Intizar Hussain wrote in a column that there was no proof of Rashid’s intention.

In another tweet, also shared by his daughter, Fatah said that he wanted to be cremated ‘like his ancestors’, another apparent reference to the fact that he did see himself as an Indian born in Pakistan.

In death, as in life, Tarek Fatah chose to clearly separate himself from his Muslim and Pakistani origin, making it clear that he would want to be remembered as an Indian born in Pakistan.