Monday, May 18, 2015

Adieu, Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug.

After being in a vegetative state for the past 42 years, Aruna passed into the mist of time this morning.

A peep into Aruna's life:-
 
    (a) 1966                  Hailing from Haldipur, Karnataka, joins King Edward Memorial Hospital,
                                   Bombay as a staff nurse.
    (b) 27 Nov '73        Brutally assaulted by wardboy, Sohanlal Bhartha Valmiki in her room when
                                   she was changing clothes after duty. Incensed about having been reported
                                   to the authorities on his waywardness, he'd throttled her neck with
                                   a dog chain while raping her anally.
                                   She was engaged to a junior doctor and choosing not to report on the rape lest
                                   the couple be embarrassed, the police had filed a case of attempted
                                   murder and robbery as reported by the then Dean of the KEM hospital.
                                   Sohanlal is sentenced to 7 yrs imprisonment in '74.
                                   Consequently, the following happened:-
                                      (i) she was abandoned by her family.
                                     (ii) her fiance abandoned his wait after 7 yrs.
                                    (iii) she became a permanent inmate of the hospital, taken care of by her
                                           colleagues.
     (c) 1980                 Sohanlal walks out of jail and allegedly returns to attack a comatose Aruna.
                                    He's reportedly working as a wardboy in a private hospital in New Delhi.
     (d) 1999                 Activist Pinki Virani moves court for euthanasia - mercy killing.
     (e) 07 Mar 2011    Supreme Court rejects the plea for mercy killing - passive euthanasia,
                                   wherein the withdrawal of the life support systems is, however, cleared. Her
                                   colleagues insist that they'd care for her at whatever cost!
     (f) 18 Mar 2015    She passes into the mist of time by about 0830h.

My take.

What a gruesome tragedy? This is yet another example to show as to how strange life is. We answer for past sins in the cycle of births that the soul goes through. A couple of doubts creep into my mind at this juncture:-

     (a) Was Aruna, through the 42 yrs of vegetative existence, answering for her past karma?
     (b) On the other hand, Sohanlal seems to have got away lightly after committing such a heinous
           crime.

RIP, Aruna! My humble prayers and tears.


Tailpiece.

Active euthanasia is illegal in our country even to this day. Isn't it time to look at it in a more pragmatic manner?
                                    

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