The senseless Tradition Santhara does not justify Suicide!

On Monday I went to Delhi on short notice for a TV debate. The topic of this discussion was the religious custom called ‘Santhara’ which is common in the Jain religion. Let me explain you what exactly this is, why it was a topic for TV and what my stand on it was.

Santhara, also called Sallekhana, is a practice among Jain believers with which people who are older than 75 years go to their voluntary death. If an old person of Jain religion feels there is no point of living anymore, if he wants salvation, if he feels the world doesn’t need him anymore or he doesn’t need the world anymore, he just stops drinking and eating. He won’t eat a bite and won’t even drink a sip of water anymore. He will die – and his fellow believers will applaud it.

This is how their saints died and this is the way of dying that the Jain religion glorifies. Now however, the High Court has banned this practice, as they consider it suicide.

Obviously, the Jain community is more than unhappy about this and wants to go to the Supreme Court to have this ban removed. They say that a court and a law cannot forbid this old practice and tradition.

So I was having a debate with five further people on this topic. I told very clearly that this is nothing else than suicide – which is why the court banned it! Every year 200 people in India kill themselves in this way! If someone goes on hunger strike, the government doesn’t let them die – they are force fed instead! You stop eating and drinking, so you will die – what is the difference?

My words were met by a strong opposition saying that this was not at all suicide but a wonderful thing for the soul. The soul would know its time and it was a necessary practice for reincarnation.

I refuted this answer, telling them that this was nonsense and that there was no such thing as a soul or reincarnation. If you allow these people do kill themselves, you have to allow suicide to everyone. Make a law for death by each person’s wish – then everyone can decide to kill himself whenever he or she wants to. You however want to have this right only for you because for the rest of people it is not allowed! You glorify this way of dying and due to this, people will follow! You are encouraging them to commit suicide!

They said their forefathers had always followed this practice as well. One lawyer, who will fight against this ban, claimed that it was not suicide at all, the soul would leave only at its time. That’s how there were people living for months and years without eating and drinking. On top, they argued, they wouldn’t tell young people to do Santhara, only those above 75 years of age.

Now for me, it is not an argument to say ‘our forefathers did the same’! This doesn’t mean it is right and just because they were doing wrong doesn’t mean that you have to do the same! It was the same with the Hindu practice of Sati, when women committed suicide on the cremation fire of their husbands! They were forced to follow this tradition until it was banned! Then, too, a lot of people protested – but in the end, you just cannot make the law of a country according to religion or tradition!

Your argument about only telling this to old people is invalid, too! Who decides who is old and who is not? Who says old people are not useful anymore? Why do you give them the idea that after 75, they will soon have to die? A lot of politicians and people of other work fields are working into their high eighties as well! If I just see how invaluable my grandmother is to my daughter – I wouldn’t want to miss her just because of such a stupid tradition! She is 95 years old or even more and in this way, we would have lost her 20 years ago!

And I don’t even feel like replying the idea that someone could be alive after not drinking even a sip of water for a month, let alone several years! That’s just nonsense and fraudulent claims of cheaters!

I am sure that the ban will remain and I think it is good that this practice will finally stop.