3-year-old dies in MP after parents make her fast unto death in Santhara ritual

A three-year-old girl died after her parents initiated her into the Jain religious practice of fasting unto death, citing her terminal brain tumour diagnosis, bringing into focus the controversial practice known as Santhara.

The incident occurred in Indore district, Madhya Pradesh, on March 21 but came to light this week when IT professionals Piyush Jain, 35, and Varsha Jain, 32, received recognition from the Golden Book of World Records, a US-based organisation, after their daughter Viyana became the youngest person to “vow the religious ritual Santhara.”

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Santhara, also called Sallekhana, is a practice in which a person voluntarily gives up food and water with the intention of dying. It was briefly struck down as illegal in 2015 by the Rajasthan high court that ruled the practice was not essential to Jainism, but the ruling was stayed shortly after by the Supreme Court – making it legal.

To be sure, this case involves a child and similar cases involving minor have stirred a legal debate over whether they are deemed fit to consent to such a practice. MP Child Rights Commission member Omkar Singh said: “It is a religious practice for elderly people. I have sympathy with the parents, but it shouldn’t be done with a toddler, even if she was on her deathbed. The toddler was not aware of anything.”

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Singh added the commission was “looking at legal aspects of this matter” and could decide soon on whether to invoke charges against the parents.

Viyana was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December. Despite successful surgery in Mumbai on January 10, the cancer relapsed in March. “She was doing fine but on March 15, she fell ill and doctors diagnosed recurrence of the tumour,” said Varsha.

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According to Varsha, Viyana had been suffering from throat congestion since March 15 and was put on juices from March 18. “On the evening of March 21, doctors installed an artificial feeding tube to administer liquids and said it would be removed once she gets better,” she added.

But later that evening, the couple consulted their spiritual leader Rajesh Muni Maharaj, who convinced them to opt for Santhara “to decrease her suffering and improve her next birth”, the mother said.

The Santhara ceremony began at 9.25pm at the spiritual leader’s ashram in Indore. Viyana died at 10.05pm, approximately 40 minutes after the ritual began.

“We broke down after this incident,” Varsha said.

The parents said the spiritual leader then encouraged them to apply for the world record, with his followers helping complete the application.

Experts said the incident was complicated from a legal standpoint.

“The girl died within 40 minutes of Santhara, which means she was already on her deathbed,” said Abhay Jain Gohil, a retired Madhya Pradesh high court judge.

“Every year, at least 200 people take Santhara and it is their decision,” the judge added, noting that while the decision in this case was made by parents for their ailing daughter, it would be difficult to challenge legally.

Medical experts were clear on their opposition to the incident.

“In my opinion, parents should have opted to admit her for treatment in a hospital instead of taking her to a spiritual place. The girl was too young and would not have borne the stress of the ritual,” said a senior doctor who requested anonymity.