Aruna Shanbaug had her entire life ahead of her.
A pretty, vibrant 25-year old nurse, she was working at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India and planning her wedding to a physician who worked at the same hospital. All of her hopes ended on November 27, 1973 when she was attacked and sexually assaulted in the hospital basement. Her attacker, a ward attendant named Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki, had resented the way in which she criticized him for his work on the ward. In the course of the attack, Walmiki choked Aruna with a dog chain and sodomized her. The dog chain around Aruna's neck cut off the blood supply to her brain causing severe brain damage. After stealing her earrings, Walmiki left her lying in a pool of blood and she was eventually discovered by a cleaner the following morning. Medical examination determined that she had sustained permanent damage to her brain stem, and cervical cord. In addition to cortical blindness, Aruna Shanbaug was left in a persistent vegetative state and has remained confined to a hospital bed at King Edward Memorial Hospital since 1973.
Sohanlal Bharth Walmiki was arrested and charged for attempted murder and robbery. Since details of the sodomy were concealed by the attending physicians at the direction of the hospital (possibly to avoid potential social rejection of the victim), Walmiki was convicted to two-consecutive seven-year terms for assault and robbery. Under Indian law, he was not tried for rape or molestation which might have earned him a longer sentence. Aruna Shanbaug's case has been the center of controversy for years. Immediately after the attack, Mumbai nurses went on strike to ensure her continued care as well as for safer working conditions for themselves. Following efforts to move her out of the hospital to free up the bed, nurses protested again and the plan was dropped.
Aruna Shanbaug faded from public memory until 1998 when journalist Pinki Virani wrote a book which reignited interested in her case. Working on Aruna's behalf, Verani filed a plea with India's Apex court to allow for euthanasia and to stop the hospital from force-feeding her. Despite opposition from doctors and nurses at the hospital, the claim was admitted to the Supreme Court in 2009. The plea was finally addressed on January 24, 2011 and a medical panel was set up to examine Aruna. On March 7, the court rejected Verani's plea but, in a landmark ruling, allowed for passive euthanasia in extraordinary cases to be decided by the Supreme Court on a case-by-case basis.
As for Aruna Shanbaug, the court battle over her fate has stirred up an emotional battle with supporters on both sides expressing outrage over the facts of the case and Pinki Verani's crusade to end Aruna's life. Since none of Aruna's family members have been involved in her care for decades, the staff at King Edward Memorial Hospital have become her substitute family and seem willing to continue to maintain her life.
In the meantime, Aruna remains in her hospital bed where she has survived for the past thirty-seven years. There is no indication that she is even aware of her surroundings, or the fight to end her existence.
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