Ban lifted on Jain ritual of voluntary fasting to death

The centuries-old practice of Santhara has been in the eye of a storm since 2006

GN Bureau | August 31, 2015


#jain   #death   #santhara   #rajasthan   #supreme court   #high court  

The supreme court has stayed Rajasthan high court's order declaring Santhara, a Jain ritual of voluntary and systematic fasting to death, as a criminal offence and issued a notice to centre and the Rajasthan government.

A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court, comprising chief justice Sunil Ambwani and Justice VS Siradhana on August 10 called the practice punishable under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The high court had declared Santhara as illegal under section 309 of the IPC (punishment for attempted suicide). The high court had also held that any endorsement of Santhara by the members of the community amounted to abetment to suicide.

The centuries-old practice of Santhara has been in the eye of a storm since 2006 when the case of 93-year-old Keila Devi Hirawat from Jaipur had international media debating whether there was any place for such a ritual in the modern world. Practised mostly by elders nearing death or having no desire to live any more, this ritual demands the practitioner to even sacrifice drinking water and is not advisable for young adults or children.

The ban on the Jain ritual came after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by human rights activist and advocate Nikhil Soni a decade ago. The activist claimed the ritual is a social evil and should be considered as suicide.

One of the concerns raised in the petition was that it is old people, who usually resort to Santhara, and allowing an elderly person to suffer without medical assistance, food and water is inhuman.

Last week, a Jain body had moved the supreme court challenging the high court order declaring the ritual of Santhara or fasting unto death a penal offence. "It is a victory of India's traditions," a petitioner told reporters outside the apex court.

The petition by Akhil Bharat Varshiya Digambar Jain Parishad said that Santhara was not an act to terminate one's life, but a vow intended to purify the soul from the karmas and it could not be equated with the offence of suicide.

"Conceptually, Santhara or Sallekhana is different from suicide as this vow is not taken either in passion or in anger, deceit, etc. It is a conscious process of spiritual purification where one does not desire death but seeks to live his life, whatever is left of it, in a manner so as to reduce the influx of karmas," the petition said.

Thousands of Jains had held a 'silent march' to protest the Rajasthan high court judgement banning the religious ritual of fast unto death. Members of both Shwetambar and Digambar sects participated in marches which were held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradhesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam and other states.

Jains argue that it is a voluntary act of rational thinking and marks the beginning of a journey of understanding the inherently painful and flawed nature of earthly existence. For millions of Jains in India, the PIL was a direct violation of the Indian Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

While opponents of Santhara equate the practice with suicide and argue that it's a fundamental breach of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life, supporters say that the right to life includes a corresponding right not to live.

Comments

 

Other News

Enhanced MCA21 V3 Portal Paves the Way for Improved Corporate Governance

By Sudhir Chaturvedi, Executive Board Member & President- Markets, LTIMindtree Corporate governance has always been a critical issue for businesses in India. As part of its ongoing digitalization drive, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) recently launched the latest

“I pray to God that such an incident never happens in future”

Life is slowly limping back to normalcy in Bahanaga, a block headquarters town in Odisha’s Balasore district that witnessed one of the deadliest rail disasters of the century. Train operations have resumed as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun the probe into the accident that claimed

Gandhi’s Triumph over the Fear of Death

The Essential U. R. Ananthamurthy Edited by N. Manu Chakravarthy and Chandan Gowda Aleph Books, Rs 899, 312 pages

Bird walks for youngsters to be held across India

Early Bird and the Rainmatter Foundation have announced five bird walks, led by naturalists, across India on June 10. The walks, to be held in Agartala, Dehradun, Mysore, Panjim, and Tirupati early in the morning, are part of the Rainmatter Foundation’s Walking Lightly campaign, being observed throug

India celebrates Environment Day with thrust on Mission LiFE

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India organized the World Environment Day on Monday with a thrust on Mission LiFE. The concept of LiFE, i.e., Lifestyle for Environment was introduced by prime minister Narendra Modi at the World Leaders` Summit in Glasgow at COP26, when

Green banking: an emerging way forward

Green Banking is an initiative taken by the banks to promote environment-friendly practices and reduce carbon footprint of their activities. Green financing (a part of ‘Green Banking’) is a broad term that can refer to a financial investment flowing into sustainable development projects and ini

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter