Its My Right To Die, Mind You, Indian Government !!!

            376TH BLOG -->>

        Supreme court, finally, delivered their final decision on the life of Aruna Shanbhag. She was suffering Euthanasia from last many years. She was given as the best example of living a life in a miser situation. She was fed up with her life and demanded a Mercy Killing from the Indian government but government rejected her plea and refused to kill her in any type of situation. All the nurses and all the doctors of KEM hospital who saw her from last two decades burst out in anger and and told government to live in her situation just for one week. Today, people are busy in watching matches are predicting what type of shot Tendulkar could have played at his 38th Run so that he would not have been dismissed. This is the main concern and topic in the life of Indians and no one has any type of heuristic-ness for the case of Aruna Shanbhag. A lady who is fighting from last two decades and the government ignoring her pleas and issues is unknown and unfamiliar to many. When Sanjay Leela Bhansali made a movie on the same topic and issue, people rejected it and the public figure like Salman Khan made fun of the movie rather than focusing on the subject of the movie. His own BlockBuster- Dabangg was so much hyped just for having useless masala in the movie which made people laugh that he didn't found Guzaarish to be sensible.

              Aruna Shanbhag is a nurse from Haldipur, Uttar Kannada, Karnataka in India. In 1973, while working at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, she was sexually assaulted by Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki, a ward boy at the hospital.Walmiki was motivated partly by resentment for being ordered about and castigated by Shanbaug.

              As the sources says, On the night of 27 November 1973 Walmiki attacked her while she was changing clothes in the hospital basement. He choked her with a dog chain and sodomized her. The asphyxiation cut off oxygen supply to her brain resulting in brain stem contusion injury and cervical cord injury apart from leaving her cortically blind.
 
               The police case was registered as a case of robbery and attempted murder on account of the concealment of anal rape by the doctors under the instructions of the Dean of KEM, the late Dr. Deshpande perhaps to avoid the social rejection of the victim. Walmiki was caught and convicted, and he served a seven-year concurrent sentence for assault and robbery. Not for rape or sexual molestation, nor for the "unnatural sexual offence" (which could have got him a ten-year sentence by itself). The man who made her life miser escaped the jail after 7-year-of-imprisonment. This is our Indian Law. We should feel ashamed of this rather than being excited for our Indian team walking every time on the Cricket ground to earn money and help the channels to gain TRPs and marketeers to market their products during advertisements.

                Since the assault, she has been in a vegetative state. On 24th January 2011, the Supreme Court of India responded to the plea for Euthanasia filed by Aruna's friend journalist Pinki Virani, by setting up a medical panel to examine her.. However, it turned down the mercy killing petition on 07th March, 2011. The court, in its landmark judgement, however allowed Passive Euthanasia in India.

                 Following the attack, Indian nurses in Mumbai went on strike demanding improved conditions for Shanbaug and better working conditions for themselves. In the 1980s the BMC made two attempts to shift Shanbaug outside the KEM Hospital to free the bed she has been occupying for seven years. KEM nurses launched a protest, and the BMC shelved the plan. It is again a matter of shame that the hospital feels it a burden to serve the lady who is suffering with Euthanasia. Her family and relatives left visiting her after sometime and since then the nurses from the KEM hospital are cleaning her loos from the bed and helping her with every type of support and condusive-ness stipulated. 

                 Now, as Supreme Court ordered the consent for Passive Euthanasia and Aruna Shanbhag was told about this, she just muttered, " Eeeehhmmm". This is the case of the women where she can feel no excitement or happiness or sadness or querulousness. Her response has not even been tumultuous. As this case has turned out to be optimistic and pragmatic, lets hope that every patient suffering with Euthanasia don't live a long life of misery. On their choice, they are given an approval for Active Euthanasia or Passive Euthanasia. No patient lives in the vegetative state of life.

In normal state (Without Euthanasia)

In the Euthanasia state

               And lets not forget the struggle and pain Aruna Shanbhag faced in her life. And let be aware of such cruelty shown by our Indian law where the culprit escapes the jail after 7 years of imprisonment. 

              Lets hope for the betterment.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU