ARUNA- A RAY OF HOPE?

It was not the run of the mill news headline. Amidst, an international tour of the premier, the battle of wits in the capital, a controversial interview by the former dictator of Pakistan, the upping of the ante by the Opposition and peaking of the IPL, Aruna Shanbaug ceased to exist. A lady wronged by a man, who is now free, discarded by her family on pecuniary grounds, but silently sought to draw the limelight on to the insensitive system on the one hand and on the humanitarian face of the employees of a municipal hospital on the other hand. Homage is to be paid but should it be a mere lip service for this soul which existed but did not live nor was allowed to die.

Many issues have crept up even in her ceasing to exist. The queries that crossed the mind were

• Did the judiciary not find this a fit case to be taken suo moto cognizance for a higher penalty?
• Was it not the rarest of the rare cases?
• Was the brutality of the family masked by the brutality of the offender?
• Did her fiancé and offender extend the courtesy of being present for the final rites?
• Was the Attorney General right in distinguishing between right to life and right to die unnaturally?
• Whether the right question was whether the right to life meant a right to exist physically with no semblance of ‘life’ ?
• Where were the women’s / human rights activists who failed to speak out on the existence or non existence of the “lady”?

42 years is a long time. It is close to half a century. It is the maximum service for a Government servant who could be enrolled at the minimum age of 18. It is six to seven times the term served by her assaulter. It is the number of years by which politicians claim that they are in their youth.

Contrast this with hardly a month left for her marriage on the date of the incident or exactly a fortnight left for her to complete her 67^th year. The magnitude of time that has passed in this vegetative state could be compared to eons. Attendants being kith or kin start deliberating on the need for life support systems in scenarios which last alike for more than a couple of days. The crime of such magnitude goes unrecognised with the charge being of assault and robbery. It is time for us to introspect as to whether we are a civil society wherein the system tolerates such injustices and moves on. 

It is time that we as a nation stopped tarring the municipal workers with a general brush and doff our hats in tribute to the King Edward Memorial hospital which has unflinchingly stood for its employee without expecting anything in return. In a capitalist era, these unsung faces have shown us that humanity could survive the toughest of battles. A feat that is unparalleled which is an ode to kinsmanship which needs to be emulated not only by all other employers but each one of us.

Aruna has for over four decades attempted to awaken us through her lifeless existence. Will the end trigger a new beginning is a question only time can answer. But can we make the effort?