Aruna Shanbaug. One of the most tragic cases in the Indian criminal records. She was a beautiful, committed nurse with an absolutely fit n fine life literally lined up for her. A stupid fool's lurid lust and macabre anger ruined that possibility positively, and forever.
Due to the severe strangulation, she went in to a deep coma from which she never ever woke up. Except for her colleague nurses, all supports vanished in to thin air. She 'lived' in that vegetative state for forty-one years. Pinky Virani, a journalist, wrote not only a book on the injustice thus heaped on her due to a ridiculous fool's cheap behaviour, but Virani also filed a writ for Aruna Shanbaug's right to dignified death.
In 2011 was passed a landmark judgement allowing passive euthanasia, that is, disconnecting all support systems of a comatose patient, long sustained on life support systems. Aruna was not allowed that dignity though, as Virani was a third party, and had no right to demand such an order.
Yet due to the plea on her behalf, mercy killing became a raging debate resulting in the 'passive euthanasia' right to a dignified death of a comatose patient on life support systems for a very long period.
Active euthanasia, in the form of a lethal injection, is still not legally valid in India. A living will which expresses the legal desire to end one's life is doubtful and debatable even today.
Some small mercy indeed! Let me explain why I think so. During my Ph. D. days, I freelanced with 'The New Indian Express' initially, later followed by the 'Newstime' of the 'Eenadu' group, while writing intermittently for 'The Hindu' and a portal. I wrote an extensive article in the NIE on this theme.
Both the legal and the medical fraternities whom I interviewed for this article agreed with me that in an India, bursting at the seams, the elderly abuse would be terrible if such a legality were to exist, just like the 'living will' notion might.
My argument was also that women would be the target of this law, especially if 'will'ful, or otherwise, property was the terrible temptation. Old, ignorant, illiterate persons, especially women, would thus be at the receiving end, if legally the innocent ' right' were allowed en masse. None can predict how quasi-religious groups would at such times pressurise under the spiritual garb!
Right now, passive euthanasia is allowed, but only under the strict observation of the court. Recently, the issue yet again came to limelight, despite the war in the Middle East, due to the Harshit Rana case. He, too, was in a vegetative state, a comatose case for more than a decade.
Sad to even read the parents' anguish. The tearful family's final farewell to him at the AIMS doorstep where passive euthanasia would be administered belies their dedicated care of him for more than a decade. A near and dear one's death is never merely dry legality. It is a maelstrom that shakes the roots of existence. May none thus suffer!
Pratima@ The worst nightmare on this earth is parents having to suffer their child's demise. Every death is terrible. Yet a parent having to suffer that terrible loss is impossible even to imagine. Hope stupid fools committing suicide due to flimsy reasons would understand that. Much worse is the obsession with some online game such as 'pubg', or whatever! Internet gaming, like every other obsession, is a horror which must not be allowed to claim young lives, and to heap horrible harm on families!
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