I have been around long enough to gather enough experience in life and know that it isn’t fair at all times. Sometimes it seems like a farce, sometimes a comedy; sometimes like gambling and sometimes like a card game. Things do not always follow the cause – effect relationships. They go wrong despite the best efforts, unknown and unforeseen play havoc with the best laid schemes of men and mice. And this is when people begin to look for explanations in stars and planets and their positions and their seating arrangements in natal charts. If you want to sound more refined and learned you could talk about karma philosophy and explain it away. Placebos that have been invented to prevent people from going mad trying to find the answers to their “why?” and more importantly “why me?” Ruses invented to keep the spark of hope alive so that people will want to wake up to see another day in the hope of a better tomorrow. Lubrication needed to keep the wheel of life going.
Yet there are times when something seems to have gone horribly amiss in the master plan – when horrible things happen to good people, when children suffer as in the case of this lovely young couple who fell in love and married. Everything was fine until the girl miscarried several times. Finally one child survived, a girl with cerebral palsy and she lives on – a sixteen year old baby who cannot move by herself or speak. Why did this child have to survive when so many healthy children are lost to accidents and killings? Why are innocent civilians the victims in acts of terror and war? What can explain all this?
Or cases where the perpetrator of a crime lives free while his victim lies in bed in misery and pain. As in the case of Aruna Shanbaug, a staff nurse at King Edward memorial Hospital who ,in 1973, was sodomised by a hospital sweeper and strangled with a dog chain. Aruna went into a coma and remains in that state till date – for 35 years. She was 25 when this happened. The criminal served a 7 year sentence and has been free since. Aruna lies in bed devoid of the ability to speak or see or move but can feel her pain.
Blogger Snigdhasen’s moving post here led me to Bachi Karkaria’s column in the TOI. It is dificult not to shed tears for Aruna which is all we can do and yes if you believe in the power of prayer send a prayer for her to be released from this living hell. She has suffered enough in her life; let her find peace in death.
Note to Snigdhasen: Unable to leave a comment on your post at Blogher as I have lost my password. Have not been able to get a new password in spite of several attempts. Had to talk about it here to give vent to my sadness ever since I read your post.
Monday, June 16, 2008
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24 comments:
Was the seven year sentence for the rape, or does manslaughter also carry such a low sentence?
I wish we had laws in India about euthanasia. But I agree with you, there are far too many "Whys" we don't have answers to. Blaming it on Fate, or God's will, or some unknown previous birth's faults, does not help either.
Wouldn't a perfect God also be transparent in His working? Wouldn't he explain to you why you are being treated in such a manner?
Changing the topic completely, you are tagged! Though that sounds rather discordant right now.
Lekhni: The horrible thing is that the seven years sentence was only for assault and theft of jewellery. There was no case of rape as no one testified about the sodomy and her hymen was intact.
Horrible, horrible, horrible!
Its time the laws of the land change and severe punishments are given for such brutal crimes.
Only wish her spirit and good gods or to say his karma makes that sweeper ROT in this "very earth" for his miserable deeds.
Instances like this make me believe in euthanasia and stricter laws (even capital punishment) for offenders. I think as a country, we definitely need stricter laws and more effective law enforcement.
The laws and the sentencing guidelines in India are archaic at best. Witness, identical punishment for rape, and consensual sex between adults deemed as "unnatural" by the state (Secs. 375-377 of the IPC). I just posted an article on the latter subject. Please read and act now. Thanks.
That's horrible - a vibrant woman reduced to this because of such meaningless violence. And him practically getting away with it. I personally am believer in euthanasia - specially if the person concerned is in his/her senses and wants to end a life of pain. Maybe it's not ethical for doctors to aid in such cases, but I feel, if some one wants to die with dignity, he/she deserves to. In this case, since the victim can't make the choice and Indian laws don't have laws regarding it, maybe death is the only form of deliverance that can free her of her pain.
There's a beautiful Marathi play based on Aruna's story. Very sensitively told. I remember watching it a few years back and getting goosebumps.
But I don't think they mentioned the rapist was freed after 7 years... horrible! How can it be?
usha - read Snigdha's post too and couldn't help having tears well up...
yes, so many questions with no answers! and yet to live a life of abject misery for no fault of yours!
i hope the sweeper even though free rots here and then in hell and gets no redemption...
sigh! i really am lost for words this time.
so will just shut up
Usha, thank you for stopping by my corner at BlogHer. I am unsure why you are having a problem logging in. One reason may be that the BlogHer site has been on and off because of a relaunch. Please let me know if the problem persists.
Coming to Aruna's case: It's heart-breaking, isn't it? I can't help wondering what she thinks about all day. Or can she?
To clarify the 7-year issue: According to Pinki Virani's book about this case, technically, he was serving 14 years -- seven for robbery and seven for attempt to murder. Since he had no prior records, the sentences ran concurrently.
And you are right, no case for rape or "unnatural offense" was brought against the guy.
About euthanasia: A very tough call, indeed. Who decides if Aruna wants to die or live? She can't speak her mind.
Also, can we be absolutely sure there is nothing -- NOTHING at all -- that can be done to reduce her pain?
Here's what I struggle to understand:
In almost all the comments or posts about this sad, horrendous story, I have never read the name of the creature, the inhuman being, who did this to Aruna. Never seen a picture of him, have no idea where he is now and would darn well want to be on high alert to this specimen if I ever have the misfortune to encounter him at his workplace/wherever.
There is a lot to be said for public humiliation - witness the angry group of women who lynched the village rapist when the police system failed them repeatedly.
Don't you think we need a Daily Hall of Shame feature on major newspapers or ...? elsehwere.
The Hall of Shame should include all (proven) perpetrators of dowry deaths, rape of women and children...you get the picture.
Why do we not write about the current state/location/employ of Aruna's rapist? Yes, I feel as outraged at Aruna's story - what an awful, unspeakable tragedy - but surely, surely we need to write just as much, and as often on how we can as a society respond if we ever have the misfortune of seeing this creature in real life in ? some other hospital or wherever.
How do we know he isn't harming someone else where he is?
Strange comment but I really am perplexed by our limits as thinking citizens who want to do something other than rage against the machine.
So - anyone here have a clue ...?
Just 4 google results for the rapist:
Sohanlal Bharta Walmiki
As of 1998, he was working as a ward boy in another hospital - under an assumed name!
see:
http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19980602/15351154.html
"...Meanwhile the rapist, Sohanlal Bharta Walmiki, a sweeper in the hospital, was not convicted for rape.
It was one of those terrible travesties of justice where he was jailed for robbery and attempt to murder. He is said to be working even today as a ward boy under an assumed name in a Delhi hospital."
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
that was me - ahuman bean, above
This is one of the saddest stories I have ever read; sometimes there is no justice in this world. I only hope Aruna recieves the happiness she deserves in her physical death and in a new spiritual afterlife.
I think this instance is one where an act of humanity ironically becomes inhumane in allowing this poor woman to exsist. I was brought up as a Catholic and so to believe that suicide, abortion and euthanasia were morally wrong and clearly there are many, many instances where these are wrong but as I grow older and witness more suffering I'm inclined to think that there are always exceptions to any rule. Having witnessed my father in the most extreme pain in his dying days I cannot help but wonder that maybe there was another alternative...However, I do wonder too whether his pain was part of a spirtual growth.(He still had his mental capacities)and strangely his final moments were in fact very peaceful. I don't fully understand and in truth none of us will until our own time comes.
On a more earthy level-The value of life is great and it is difficult to place a value on the quality of someone's elses exsistence. At what exact point do you say a life is not worth living? When the "mind" is dead? Or when an active "mind" wishes it was? And that is where we must trust our own judgements, our own connection to humanity.. and be brave enough to make the right decision...
As ever Usha your blog continues to be the one of the most thought provoking I have come across.
the atrocities people commit, are inexcusable. the sentence was much to lean. 7 years for destroying a life, the victim has a life sentence. to terrible
If someone finds an answer to 'why that?' say so. I'd like to hear that. Please.
How horrible! Sometimes, at times like these in particular, make me wonder where the world is getting! Really SAD.
The inhumanity of the crime in this case is intensified by the suffering of Aruna.
Snigdha, we do not know what Aruna wants. But is there any quality or dignity in her life except perhaps as a reminder of a heinous crime to those around her?
Is it worth keeping her alive in this state - teeth rotting and brain damaged due to the lack of oxygen due to strangulation. What does she have to look forward to?
I think Bachi karkaria is right in wishing her a speedy death and release.
And I still cant get a new password for my blogher id. :(
Ahumanbean:Thank you for the research. With his record, he actually got a job again and in a hospital where there are vulnerable people?
Do the police keep track of him, I wonder.
I completely agree that we should have a hall of shame.
And if there is any lynching ceremony planned for this guy, I am in.
Jane: Thanks for those thoughts. I have seen dear ones go through similar kind of pain owing to cancer and wonder why they were being kept alive on medication. It was tough to watch especially when my mother began to express her desire to live longer and see so many things and we knew she had just weeks to live.
Thanks for the support and kind words.
Maami: I guess we will never know.
True Usha, not sometimes, often, most things in life defy explanation or rationale. When the tiding is good, no one wants to know the reason, when it's bad we all look for the reason.
@ahumanbean: It's good that you showed interest in the perpetrator. The information about him is available in Pinki Virani's book. The reason it didn't show up in posts -- at least in my post -- is that unfortunately in Aruna's case he doesn't matter anymore. Nobody was willing to file a case of sexual assault against him, so there's no proof that he is guilty.
Remember, we are looking at this in hindsight, with a 20-20 vision. This happened in 1973 under very different social and medical circumstances.
However, I must admit, I had EXACTLY the same questions and more about the guy: How do we know other women are safe? Have the cops profiled him, etc? I have posed those question to Ms Virani and will re-post when I hear back from her.
In fact, the book recounts one incident where, one day after seven years, Aruna was found on the floor with her tongue bitten and her window wide open. The nurses suspected that the younger nurses may have forgotten to secure the protective child railings on either side of her bed. They denied forgetting to do so. Then it dawned on a nurse that Sohanlal may be back to finish off his work, and most people in the hospital wouldn't recognize him since many of those who worked with him and Aruna had moved on.
One worker said he had spotted someone opening Aruna's window and peeping in. The guy ran away when the worker raised an alarm.
Since then, the window has bars and Aruna's room is under lock and key.
The man who "peeped" into the window could have been anyone, not necessarily Sohanlal: Aruna's case had attracted so much attention that people would turn up at the hospital demanding a look at her.
The reports about Sohanlal having changed his name and getting a job in a Delhi hospital are not confirmed. They may or may not be true.
If you get a chance, do check out Pinki Virani's book.
@Usha: About mercy killing -- well, I am divided about it. I understand the sentiment, but my brains don't permit it, especially if the person suffering cannot express and opinion. We perceive her misery, we interpret her misery, we don't know or understand it.
All her vital functions are intact, and she responds to things in ways we don't understand.
I'd rather that doctors find a way to mitigate her pain. People are known to wake up and walk out of comas after several years. And from reading the book, it appears to me that not all facets of treatment were allowed in her case.
I'll wait for Ms. Virani's email. Things may clear up further.
[P.S. About BlogHer. I'm told this problem occurs when some servers dump password requests into the junk folder. Please feel free to contact Denise at denise@blogher.com with your username. She will fix it pronto!]
Horrible really. I don't even want to imagine how horrible it must be for her family. Did you read my nat geo post? The horrors that people live through...it is beyond belief. Yet the human spirit endures...somehow people survive...I mean not in this case but in the bigger picture...
What you had written in the first part of this post is so true (ruses etc)...and it was very well written too.
Usha ,I read the article on Aruna a long time back .The legislation has to change to punish rapists .Since she was sodomised , no rape charge was levelled - does it make sense I wonder? Is it not a brutal invasion of a woman's body? Its laughable .
I quite agree that euthanasia should be legalised .
Too tragic an incident. Such criminals should have been asked to pay back to the Society throughout their life. Yet, that is a poor consolation for the wretched life to which an innocent woman has been reduced to.
Euthanasia - do we have the right to take a way a life - however miserable it may be ? "Hope prolongs the happier hour". Those around her, though often reminded of the incident, may have a flickering hope that one day she would come out of her comatose stage. Should one deprive them of this small pleasure?
Usha, I don't think there is an explanation of why bad things happen to good people. Things happen if we are at the wrong place and the wrong time. It's chance to some extent and in some cases due to our temperament or situation. I guess being an agnostic who believes that God has nothing to do with what happens to people or our earth is one of the reasons I feel no anger.
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