The right to die

Badani Devi’s wish to fast till death, through the Jain Santhara ritual, has stirred debate the world over

Transcript

00:002300 years ago, one of India's greatest emperors, Chandragupta Maurya, a man who unified India

00:07and drove political, economical and educational reform, took up Santara or Salekhana, a ritual

00:13fast to the death at Shravanabelagola, a famous religious site in South India, Karnataka,

00:20after abdicating in favor of his son Bindusara in 298 BC.

00:24Recently, 82-year-old Badhanidevi from Rajasthan declared that she had undertaken the same

00:30fast since July 25, 2015.

00:34This was minutes after the Indian Supreme Court suspended the Rajasthan High Court's

00:39decision that said Salekhana or Santara was akin to suicide and therefore punishable.

00:45In the Jain faith, death by Santara is an act of supreme renunciation and great piety,

00:51which only the most spiritually pure undertake, an ancient religious practice aimed at self-purification.

00:57But human rights activists allege that it is a social evil and old people are made to

01:02undertake it by family members who do not want to look after them for a variety of reasons.