The Telegraph
Kolkata, 25.08.2015
Santhara Issue
About 5,000 Jains marched from Burrabazar to Esplanade on Monday afternoon protesting a Rajasthan High Court verdict banning Santhara, a centuries-old Jain practice of starving oneself to death to attain salvation.
The Jains who walked said Santhara was an individual's choice and their religion did not compel anyone to practise it. The high court order, they said, is an infringement on their right to practise religion.
"There is no compulsion on anyone to adopt Santhara. It's a matter of an individual's choice. Had it been forced on anyone there could have been a logic behind the decision to ban it," a rallyist said.
The Jains who practise Santhara, usually in their advanced years or when suffering from a debilitating and incurable disease, stop taking food and water and detach themselves from their loved ones. Rights activists have compared the practice to suicide, euthanasia and even Sati.
Rajasthan High Court had on August 10 banned Santhara, making it a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 309 (attempted suicide). A person convicted under Section 306 can be sentenced for up to 10 years in jail and one convicted under Section 309 can be jailed for up to a year.
The abetment tag is meant for family and approximate community members of someone resorting to Santhara, which activists allege is sometimes a way of getting rid of elderly relatives and grabbing their property.
But the Jains who joined Monday's rally called the practice a sacrifice. "This is a sort of sacrifice the Jains make to attain salvation," said Priyanka Jain, 22, an engineer with TCS. She said she "strongly believed" in the tradition and took an off from office to join the rally.
Rounak Jain, 18, an IT student at IIEST, Shibpur, stayed away from the campus to take part in the march. "I walked to express my support for something I believe in," he said.
Some of the rallyists wore caps with the slogan "Live and Let Live" written on them.
"Jains across India are discussing the issue. We will challenge the order in the Supreme Court and preparations are on for that," said Vikash Shyamsukha, a businessman and member of the Sakal Jain Samaj, which organised Monday's rally.
One rally started from Howrah's Dobson Road and another from Burrabazar's Digambar Jain Bada Mandir at 12.30pm. The two met on Mahatma Gandhi Road and then marched through Rabindra Sarani and Bentinck Street before reaching Esplanade around 3pm.
A spiritual guru of the community, Mati Ratan Vijay ji, addressed the gathering at Esplanade.
Jains across India organised rallies on Monday on the issue. In Rajasthan, rallies were held in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Bhilwara, among other cities. All schools run by the Jain community were closed in Jaipur.
The Rajasthan High Court verdict banning Santhara followed a public interest petition moved by rights activist Nikhil Soni in 2006. Soni submitted during the hearing on his petition that the practice should be considered as suicide. Santhara, he had said, was in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to life.
Two acts of Santhara in Jaipur had triggered a national debate in late 2006. Bimla Devi Bhansali, 60, fasted to death after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Soni alleged that Bimla Devi's relatives had publicly announced it was her own decision but in her final hours, the frail woman appeared to make a request for food and water. Her voice was drowned out by the bhajans being sung around her, he said.
Soni moved his petition after another woman, Keila Devi Hirawat, 93, resorted to Santhara the same year.