Picture: A group
of elders gather at a corner shop in a village.
Sometimes Thalaikoothal is
practiced with their consent
Thalaikoothal is the crude ritual practice of senicide or
involuntary euthanasia, killing one’s elderly parents resembles that of leading
a lamb to slaughter – except that there is no knife involved. It is an oil bath in more than 50 villages of
the Districts of Virudhunagar, Mandabasalai, Madurai, Thoothukudi and Theni in
Tamil Nadu State in India.
In
the internal parts of the state otherwise praised for a vibrant culture that
transcends all walks of life, this ritualistic practice of senicide is accepted
like an innocuous norm.
Picture of
representation
When
a family is unable to bear the burden of an elderly, they kill them off. And,
perhaps, the strongest of hearts would cringe at methods used to kill the
elderly.
The
elderly, usually above 50, are first given an oil bath. The body is massaged
with 100ml each of coconut, castor and sesame oils, usually at dawn. After
this, the person is given a cold bath and put to bed. The body temperature soon
dips, often to a lethal extent. After 15 minutes, the person is made to drink a
few glasses of tender coconut water and a glass of milk. This causes renal
failure. In a day or two, the person catches fever and dies.
The
other method is a massage of the head with cold water. This causes a sudden
drop in body temperature. The body being old and infirm is unable to handle
this change resulting in cardiac arrest.
There
is a third way in case the other two do not work, the person would be given a
glass of mud mixed with water or, a piece of murukku, a savoury, would be
forced down the throat, which is hard to swallow causing suffocation and death.
Another
popular material is a highly-toxic tablet used to kill pigs. It costs INR 10
and is sold under various brand names, such as Quickphos and Celphos, in pesticide
shops throughout these villages. Usually, this tablet is mixed in tea given to
the elderly. The death results from profound shock, myocarditis and multi-organ
failure.
Now,
pesticides, sleeping pills and lethal injections have become part of it. The local
quacks prescribe Valium tablets. If these fail, the villagers call in the quack
to inject a combination of poisons and a fatal dose of drugs. Death comes
within minutes.
A
survey carried out to study this senicide in Tamil Nadu reveals that there
could be as many as 26 different ways.
Picture of
representation
Journal
The Week reports, In M Reddiapatti, a village near Mandabasalai, 92-year-old
Subbama Veluchamy was recently put to sleep by her family. Bedridden for more
than 40 days, she was under the care of her sister-in-law and her son’s family.
One day, after a bout of diarrhoea, Subbama refused to eat or drink. This was
when the family decided to give her the oil bath. However, the bath failed, and
a local quack prescribed a dozen sleeping pills. These, too, failed to put her
out of her misery. The last resort was a lethal injection. As her veins were
infirm, the quack pricked her foot and took her life. “We all could hear her
crying loudly and quivering in pain. But the family cannot afford her,” says
Kasthuri, her neighbor.
Though
villagers claim they have buried this gruesome tradition, it has now taken on a
silent form. Sometimes, the elderly themselves consent to Thalaikoothal. Then
everything will be done with full preparation. Relatives are often told of the
exact date, as if some marriage ceremony is being held.
“I
am a burden. I don’t want to trouble you any more,” hands joined in
supplication, Kannaki, 65, says to her
daughter Malar Ponnuchami. Tears run down her wrinkled face as she lifts her
head to look into the eyes of her daughter. Her words are lost in sobs, and her
lower lip trembles as she wipes away the tears with the corner of her muddled
green sari. Kannaki knows that her
daughter has little time to take care of her. Her right leg and left hand, both
paralysed, add to the burden. Malar, an agricultural laborer, ekes out a living
and cannot afford her mother's medicines.
Kannaki
lives on one meal a day—a cup of kanji (rice gruel) early in the
morning. “I don’t want to live. I know I will be killed as my daughter cannot
afford to take care of me. But I want to die a peaceful death without pain.
Will you help me?” she asked her daughter. Given her condition, Kannaki could
soon be celebrated Thalaikoothal.
Picture of
representation
As
a justification for their killing of the elderly, some offenders say the
old bodies get rid of the suffering. Others say they do not have the means
to take care of their parents. The truth
could be anything, including possessing ownership of property. Since a higher
number of the elderly are men who usually have the property in their names, it
somewhat validates the ownership angle.
Although Thalaikoothal is illegal in
India, the practice has long received covert social acceptance as a form of
mercy killing. But the
government finds itself helpless to interfere in any practice of a society
fiercely divided along religious, caste and traditional lines. So no one is
arrested for this crime because no one
complaints and doctors often cite the reason of death as natural causes.
Since the society accepts it as normal, there is no hue and cry. Entire
villages can stand united behind those who carry out this practice.
With
the diverse ways there are now to kill the elderly, the ritual has spawned an
unorganized crime sector which involves middle men and quacks known as
“vettiar” who claim to be siddhans (indigenous medical practitioners)
and doctors. Because of the gravity of the act the quacks are involved in, the
hesitating villagers refuse to divulge more details about them. What is
more, this happens right under the nose of the law-makers and police.
Though
the practice is ethically and legally unpardonable, one should note that it is
sustained by the economic backwardness of this region. “Their livelihood has
always been a question mark,” says J. Manivannan of Elders For Elders
Foundation, an NGO in Cuddalore. “They are farm laborers. Both men and women
work but their daily earnings can meet only one person’s needs.”
State
health secretary J. Radhakrishnan, however, claims, “Government of Tamil Nadu
is doing best for palliative care”.
Picture of
representation
That
this barbaric murder is socially acceptable tells a lot about the lurking evil
in a society that appears perfectly civilized and chest-thumps on its ancient
history. That this barbaric murder is socially acceptable tells a lot about the
lurking evil in a society that appears perfectly civilized and chest-thumps on
its ancient history.
To
the hoi polloi in the villages and towns where Thalaikoothal is practiced, this
is the “cycle of life”.
Even
the activists trying to end this barbaric practice tread carefully. They have
taken the indirect route of educating the masses about how an elderly can be
cared for better instead of telling them on the face that their practice
is nothing less than demonic. Bibles
for Mideast along with the Gospel to Asia and Middle East Nations (gos2amen) ministering among them,
teaching them the value of a soul through the love of Christ and trying to end
their barbaric practice of senicide with prayers.
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