By Jaya Jaitly The death of Aruna Shanbaug leaves a vast sense of sadness in the air. The sadness is compounded further by anger and helplessness at our legal and medical systems that failed her. In fact, the country at large failed her. In doing so we failed ourselves. Those who never visited her once, or had not thought about her at all, rushed to pay homage to the mortal remains of a non-person who had spent 45 years in mental and physical agony. Perhaps prayers for her were really prayers for us to be forgiven for having failed to get her any peace or justice. A favourite phrase when Nirbhaya was raped and died was ‘multiple organ failure’, i.e., the transport authorities, police force and other systems were off the grid and could not prevent such a ghastly incident from happening. With Aruna Shanbaug, our pathetic laws at that time did not recognize sodomy as rape. Relevant people did not come forward to file a complaint. There were no crowds on the streets or television cameras around. She hung about like a living ghost in the back of the subconscious minds of many. For all intents and purposes the rapist killed Aruna that fateful day 42 years ago. The real Aruna died, and a pathetic, dysfunctional bag of aching skin and bones was left in its place, yet the rapist remained in jail only for 7 years. The hospital was scared to conduct tests that could have found ways to alleviate her condition even slightly . “What if something happens to her?, they asked. What was this strange need to prolong her daily agony and not risk some tests for new kinds of treatment ? Even so, the nurses of KEM hospital were heroic in their compassion and care, not even agreeing to euthanasia in their stand before the Supreme Court. However, Aruna had no comfort. She had no sunshine, no fresh air, perhaps no music and no sense of taste or any other pleasant sensation. Even chained animals have it better. A human being lives for some purpose. Aruna had no purpose, and her family members made no effort to find money to make her their purpose. No charitable organization tried to collect money to maintain her more comfortably, and yet, the nurses and doctors of KEM Hospital probably gave her what money could never buy…affection and care. Pinki Virani is another heroic soul whose efforts as a friend are trying to be negated by those who want to mitigate their guilt today for having done nothing for her earlier. No one would have heard of Aruna if Virani had not written that unforgettable book Aruna’s Story. Not only did the author inform everyone of Aruna’s painful world, but continued to visit her and even tried to end her pain and suffering legally. While the Supreme Court found no reason to accede to Virani’s plea, it allowed the issue of euthanasia to live on, as problematic and complicated as ever. Does someone have to reach the state of an Aruna for the law to approve its ending? How does anyone decide there is no hope of continuing a life in its present state? How does anyone really know how the suffering person is feeling? What purpose is achieved in prolonging the life of someone in Aruna’s condition, unless there was a way of knowing she did experience happiness and wanted to live. The relief felt in knowing Aruna’s suffering has ended does not mitigate the issues that are left behind, including a fierce anger that the monster who sodomized and strangled her with a dog chain, leaving her to die on a basement floor 42 years ago, is today hiding somewhere in plain sight. Read- Lest we forget Sohanlal Valmiki: The man who destroyed Aruna, and was never charged for rape