The death of a schoolgirl, barely into her teens, after fasting for 68 days is a tragic event holding many lessons for Jains. Their steadfast faith in a religious rite said to cleanse the body and focus the mind is a choice they consciously make. But if that tradition is forced, particularly on young children with impressionable minds, it becomes virtually a criminal act. It shows no respect for individual choice while holding a disregard for women who are expected to follow such practices without questioning them. If reports are true that the family may have forced the fasting on the teenager for gaining divine blessings for the family business, the adults stand guilty of a grave sin.
There is no arguing against the immense faith people place in a power above them. But then religion also brings with it certain obscurantist practices. However, human nature is a mystery that logic alone cannot unravel. A rite like fasting, when observed within limits, may be physiologically good. However, blind faith that allows such practices to be taken to extremes can be questioned. The saddest part of testing fiercely the limits of human endurance is the occasional tragedy. If schoolchildren are being allowed to fast, it is only right that they do so only under strict medical supervision. In promoting even greater obscurantist beliefs in people becoming saints or martyrs in death we do a great disservice to an innocent soul thoroughly misled into idiosyncratic behaviour.
