Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662), French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer
Namrata (name changed), the three year old daughter of IT professionals from Indore- is dead.
She had brain tumour which was successfully operated upon in January in Mumbai but it relapsed in March and within less than a week, she breathed her last.
Apropos nothing seems amiss in her story.
The child got the best treatment available and for her parents belonging to Jain community – with their large circle of friends, relatives – money was never a problem.
Despite all these relevant details it is rather difficult to forget or disremember the last few hours of her life when she was still alive, when she must have been in tremendous pain and the way she was made to undergo some ritual to ‘improve her next birth’ – as impressed upon her parents by their spiritual leader.
We learn that instead of hospital bed – where she should have been given palliative care – she was shifted to the ashram of one Maharaj, a Jain monk, who had convinced his gullible disciples – her parents – to opt for Santhara “to decrease her suffering and improve her next birth”.
And these young IT professionals – hardly in their thirties – had no qualms in shifting their dying daughter to the ashram, despite knowing fully well that she is in tremendous pain and any sudden change would rather exacerbate her death.
Santhara or Sallekhana, as is common knowledge is a Jain practice where a person voluntarily gives up food and water with the intention of dying. According to rough estimates every year around 200 people thus opt for Sallekhana.
Looking at the fact that this practice is akin to suicide, it had been declared illegal by the Rajasthan High Court, it had declared that it is an offence under Article 309 which deals with ‘ attempts at suicide’ and had said that it cannot be considered part of essential practice of religion and thus cannot be protected under article 25. The Supreme Court has stayed this decision of the High Court but it would be incorrect to say that last word on this tradition of self harm has been said.
As of now one can postpone our disagreement about this custom, but one can at least agree that only an adult can make a a decision, whether to opt for death voluntarily. If our constitution does not allow an adolescent to vote or even to be issued driving licence, how can it be expected that s/he will be in a position to choose death over life. And for a child – hardly of three years – it would be impossible to decide on her own and if at all s/he is subjected to this practice, it can only be construed that it has been forced on her.
Reports further tell us that within four hours of the start of the Sallekhana ritual, Namrata – the three year old daughter of the IT professionals, was dead.
Shockingly it took more than one and half month for the news to reach public domain, and that after the Golden Book of World Records, a US-based organisation, acknowledged that their daughter Namrata became the youngest person to “vow the religious ritual Santhara.”
Namrata’s painful death raises many questions :
– How the weird religious convictions of her rather learned parents compelled her to undergo torture of a kind during her last hours when she was in deep pain !
– How during those crucial moments when the child needed extra care – may be some injections to reduce her pain and company of her intimate ones, she was shifted an unknown place among equally unknown people who subjected her to a ritual which must have further aggravated her pain
– All this torture was executed basically to ‘improve her next birth’ and make her the ‘youngest person to vow Santhara’
You try to put it any way the spiritual guru in cohoots with her parents because of their convictions not only exacerbated the child’s pain but also expedited her death.
Our Constitution well recognises sanctity of human life and there are inalienable rights possessed by every individual which cannot be taken away unless law itself mandates it and then how can her parents and their spiritual guru be not prosecuted for their violation of this basic precepts.
Does not justice demands that legal aspects of the whole matter are looked into with urgency and commensurate legal action be initiated against all three of them ? Is not it time that Child Rights Commission steps in and impress upon the police to invokes stringent charges against the individuals involved in expediting the child’s death.
Is not it time that our law enforcement agencies are able to send a strong message to all such violators of law who under the garb of faith and religious rights engage in many such acts which basically violate the sanctity of human life and thus violate the values and principles of our Constitution itself.
It needs to be kept in mind that when glorification of such ( forced) sacrifices are not questioned and challenged then they further encourage people to take similar steps.
Could it be said that Namrata’s parents were ‘inspired’ to undertake this ritual listening to the glorification of a similar ‘Santhara’ death in their community of a 13 year old girl from Secunderabad and no action being taken against any intimate ones witness to it ?
Fact is that Namrata’s sudden death because of religious convictions of her parents is not an isolated case.
Few years back we witnessed death of a 13 year old girl (https://www.ndtv.com/hyderabad-news/13-year-old-jain-girl-dies-in-hyderabad-after-fasting-for-68-days-1471700) belonging to another very rich Jain family – which runs a jewellery business- who also met with similar ‘Santhara death’.
The only difference was that this girl was 13 year old, who studied in 8 th standard but legally she was no adult and therefore not in a position to vote or marry on her own and therefore dependent on her parents for her welfare.
For any sane and sensitive person it would appear incomprehensible that she undertook a fast which continued for more than two months – 68 days to be exact – and she died within two days of ending her fast because of cardiac arrest.
What must have prompted her to undertake the fast for such a long period.
Psychologists had debated the case then in detail and had underlined how the indirect pressure exerted by parents can effectively make a child psychologically weak or vulnerable. When religion gets mixed up with it then a sense of guilt also gets associated with it which tells them that if they do not do such and such thing the family will be met with difficulties. It it starts believing that whatever the child is doing it is for the betterment of the family itself and it has basically to sacrifice her health a bit.
There is no denying the fact that parents and even other intimate ones should have impressed upon her to focus on her studies and not go for such activities but it must not have happened, in fact, the ambiance in the house would be such that such acts must have received promotion in the family itself.
Looking back the way the child’s fast was advertised then when it was going on, how people from the community and even political leaders visited her when the fast was going on looks mind boggling. She was admitted to the hospital two days after completing her fast where she died of cardiac arrest. It looks unbelievable that at least 600 people attended Aradhana’s funeral hailing her as a ‘bal tapasvi’. The funeral procession was called a ‘shobha yatra’ – a mark of celebration.
The whole episode of glorifying the fast and later her death infuriated Child Rights Activists and had even filed a case against her parents. An FIR was duly registered against her parents under Section 304 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder), besides Section 75 Juvenile Justice Act.
What one learns that the police decided to close the case within five months ‘for lack of evidence’ (https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/hyderabad-cops-close-case-of-jain-girl-who-died-after-68-day-fast/story-VJWVHo40DY6VdRh4t9FWlJ.html) prompting severe reaction from the Child Rights activists who claimed that the police itself diluted the case in league with community elders and ‘closed it without proper investigation.’ (https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/hyderabad-cops-close-case-of-jain-girl-who-died-after-68-day-fast/story-VJWVHo40DY6VdRh4t9FWlJ.html)
Death of Namrata – forced on her by her parents and their spiritual leader, preceded by death of Aradhana – where cannot be seen in isolation.
Not only pre-independence India but post independent India is witness to many such anti-human practices prevalent in every religion present here. In fact, need of the hour seems to be raise voices against all such anti human practices which glorify denial of human dignity.
Time we declare or make a resolve that practice like Made Snana (https://www.newsclick.in/cursed-practice-made-made-snana) – or even glorifying and ‘dedicating’ young daughters to the god who live rest of their lives formally as ‘God’s companion’ but are condemned to live life of sexual slavery ( Devdasi – http://probono-india.in/research-paper-detail.php?id=483) or even practices which glorify death of women ( Sati glorification act – http://probono-india.in/research-paper-detail.php?id=483) etc etc become part of History. And finally there is no truck with reactionary elements of any kind, faith or dispensation.
Perhaps that is the best way to remember Namrata, the three-year-old deceased child.
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Subhash Gatade is a left activist associated with New Socialist Initiative
