Kamlesh Uppal
The sky is dark. The feeling of standing with dust hanging in the air is everywhere. It seems the sky won’t clear until the wind blows. I am sitting in the veranda trying to steal the feeling of freshness by seeing the desert petunias blossoming in the front bed in this hummus. Another feature that makes Fiza happy in my eyes is my empty tea cup with a rare flower engraved on it. The bottom (bottom) edge of this cup is quite worn, but its diminutive shape and the flower printed on it prevent me from throwing this cup away. I drink tea twice a day in this cup with a roasted bottom. My own fragile self and this cup have formed a relationship. Dr. These lines from a poem written by Harbhajan Singh often come to mind:
Two four pages of pain written
Every other letter is empty
Now who will write the rest?
This pain is about to end
In this dirty mess
There was a mouthful of flood water
Brought till there
As far as it has been maintained
DY Chandrachud, the 50th Chief Justice of India, has delivered some important judgments during his tenure that proved to be milestones in the history of law. Among these historical decisions is the decision given about the dignified death of a person, which means that according to Article 21 of the Constitution, along with the right to live, there must be dignity and respect in the process of dying.
This is called ‘euthanasia’ in medical language which means – dying with human dignity, not by rolling or rubbing heels. This issue has been an important human issue in many civilized countries of the world, about which there have been debates, discussions, opinions of social scientists, films and plays have also been played. I still remember the name of one such debate or movie about dying with dignity – ‘Whose Life Is It Anyway’; That is, ‘whose life is it after all?’
Voices have been raised in all civilized countries to avert the death penalty of a life lived with the aid of medical devices. Recently, one of the states in the US, Oregon, has made medically assisted suicide legal. The British Parliament has also allowed such suicide. A person who is on the verge of death is forced to endure unbearable suffering, even more than the physical pain, the condition of isolation and negativity. This condition is disrespectful to life. Our Chief Justice must also have decided in view of all these debates and judgments going on in the West.
Freedom to die in an intolerable condition is the ultimate democratic right of a person, it was accepted by the majority in the British House of Commons (Lok Sabha). There, this decision was made not by keeping the party ideology as the main but by voting according to the voice of the soul, although there are still many difficulties of the issue to be solved before making a law about it; Therefore, there can be no doubt that even in the changed context of relatives, the right to suicide with medical assistance has now become necessary for the dying or the elderly.
Even in India, the issue of voluntary death is becoming a topic of thought for thinkers. This issue got a chance to be in the public eye when the journalist and social worker Pinky Virani filed an application in the Supreme Court that Aruna Shanbag, who was unconscious after being raped, should be allowed to die voluntarily. The issue in this article reminded me of Aruna’s unforgettably compassionate condition. While on duty in a hospital in Mumbai, nurse Aruna went to the basement of the hospital to change her uniform, when a sweeper or ward boy attempted to rape Aruna by smashing her head on the concrete floor, which damaged her brain nerves. She never regained consciousness and remained bedridden for 42 years. His old body also began to rot. Aruna’s rapist was jailed for only 7 years according to the law of the time, after which he returned to the mainstream of life, but his victim was still alive and enduring the hiccups of death. I remember this case that happened in 1973 very well. In his defense, the ward boy had argued in the court that nurse Aruna used to hate him, reprimanded him because he used to steal and eat fruits from the patients. He wanted to take revenge from Aruna by robbing her asmat, but that day when he wanted to touch Aruna, he found out that she was undergoing menstruation. This information enraged him further and he smashed Aruna’s head on the floor.
In 2009, Pinky Virani filed an application in the Supreme Court in view of Aruna’s condition to allow Aruna to die voluntarily. The Supreme Court ruled that Aruna’s right to life was upheld as the hospital staff was still attending to her. It is still remembered that India’s famous magazine ‘Illustrated Weekly’ had printed Aruna’s case in full detail.
Now it has become easy for every ordinary person that he can have his will/testament (will) stamped by a legal person (notary) during his old age so that if necessary Adar can voluntarily die with dignity and not suffer the pain or torture of living with the help of medical devices (ventilator). Every sensible person should welcome this legal decision.
*The author is a retired professor.
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