After 42 years of living in a state of coma in ward number four of KEM Hospital in Mumbai Aruna Shanbaug officially died on May 18th, 2015. People die every day so why this particular death is so important and mentioned specifically by the media in India. First, she was a rape survivor, she was brutally raped by a ward boy on 27th November 1973, during this brutal sexual assault the rapist used a dog chain to choke her which resulted in cutting off of oxygen supply to her brain. This brutal assault left Aruna in a coma from which she never recovered till her death. She was not declared dead just because her hospital and nursing staff stepped up and took the responsibility of her total care, they did this job with complete devotion for 42 long years. Even Supreme Court of India termed this care and commitment as "iconic" in their judgement where they rejected the plea to withdraw her life support. Only the total commitment and sincere dedication of KEM management and staff towards Aruna kept her body alive. Technically she was alive but was in a vegetative state where a person's body is incapable of giving any response. Actually, that rapist killed that active and full-of-life nurse on that very fateful night, he should have been tried for a charge of murder not just an attempt of murder. Technically or according to the law the rapist didn't kill Aruna on that day but in reality, he took away all life from her body and just left a body devoid of any life and emotions. There was practically a murder. I can't even imagine what pain or suffering Aruna must have gone through during and after that incident, no one can imagine or understand her suffering as she didn't get a chance to express her feelings either in words or with emotions.
Law couldn't punish that perpetrator for murder because Aruna's heart was still pumping blood, her lungs were still breathing the air but most part of her brain was dead. The worst part is that they didn't punish him for rape also as it was not vaginal rape, such a shameful lapse in judging this case. She existed as a body but not as a person because her personality was brutally murdered and the law failed to acknowledge that. I was not even born when this crime happened. I salute the commitment and dedication of all the staff of KEM Hospital who took care of her like their own family member for 42 long years. Even family members find it difficult to take care of people in such a state for so long. Finally, her body gave up, and her long and painful battle with life ended on Monday. She officially died on May 18th but she was dead as a person 42 years back, on that very fateful night when her brain was irreversibly damaged. There should be severe punishment in law for anyone who inflicts such suffering on any person. Aruna's case is an example for any justice system to consider all possibilities where sexual and physical assault are involved. Killing a person is not the only worst thing an abuser can do, leaving that person in a state where they don't even know they are alive is also a very serious crime and such crimes should be dealt with that seriousness. Acid attacks or serious mental injuries are a few examples of this type of crime. When I first time read the book about Aruna's story, it shook me to the core, for many days I was very disturbed and was thinking about her pain and trauma. No amount of sympathy and anger was enough to do any justice to Aruna, finally, death only made her free of all this pain and suffering. I hope we don't hear about such tragedies any more. Aruna, you were a brave person, you gave us so much to think and debate about, I hope you forgive everyone who couldn't help you, goodbye.
Law couldn't punish that perpetrator for murder because Aruna's heart was still pumping blood, her lungs were still breathing the air but most part of her brain was dead. The worst part is that they didn't punish him for rape also as it was not vaginal rape, such a shameful lapse in judging this case. She existed as a body but not as a person because her personality was brutally murdered and the law failed to acknowledge that. I was not even born when this crime happened. I salute the commitment and dedication of all the staff of KEM Hospital who took care of her like their own family member for 42 long years. Even family members find it difficult to take care of people in such a state for so long. Finally, her body gave up, and her long and painful battle with life ended on Monday. She officially died on May 18th but she was dead as a person 42 years back, on that very fateful night when her brain was irreversibly damaged. There should be severe punishment in law for anyone who inflicts such suffering on any person. Aruna's case is an example for any justice system to consider all possibilities where sexual and physical assault are involved. Killing a person is not the only worst thing an abuser can do, leaving that person in a state where they don't even know they are alive is also a very serious crime and such crimes should be dealt with that seriousness. Acid attacks or serious mental injuries are a few examples of this type of crime. When I first time read the book about Aruna's story, it shook me to the core, for many days I was very disturbed and was thinking about her pain and trauma. No amount of sympathy and anger was enough to do any justice to Aruna, finally, death only made her free of all this pain and suffering. I hope we don't hear about such tragedies any more. Aruna, you were a brave person, you gave us so much to think and debate about, I hope you forgive everyone who couldn't help you, goodbye.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Links:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruna_Shanbaug_case
Links:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruna_Shanbaug_case
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