Monday, April 19, 2021

Thalaikoothal

Thalaikoothal is a Tamil word.  English translation is Senicide.  Killing of elderly people by the relatives.  It is an involuntary euthanasia.  When an elderly person becomes very sick, the relatives (mostly children) perform Thalaikoothal so he/she dies peacefully.

Some do it so the elderly person does not suffer a lot.  Some others do it because they don’t have money to take care of them or for operation. Village people think it is mercy killing.

I was surprised to see this is being practiced in villages in Tamil Nadu. This is illegal but still practiced in Tamil Nadu.

I came to know about this when I was watching a Tamil documentary type movie in Amazon Prime.  The movie is titled Baaram (Burden). Watched it last night. Very disturbing.  Could not eat dinner.

They say there are 26 different methods to do Senicide.  Most popular is giving cold water massage on the head of the elderly person and then giving him coconut water.  This will reduce the body temperature sufficient enough to cause heart failure.  In Tamil language, Thalai means head.  I don't know what is the meaning of Koothal.

In this movie, the guy was injected with poison.

Wonder why the Indian Government is not going after the culprits.

12 comments:

  1. This is tricky- Mercy killing is never easy. I remember a family member was not given life support-after her children gave consent. Later the medical staff berated them for being callous and cruel when she passed away. It was terrible.
    But if a person is healthy and old I wonder...
    There is a ritual in Jains where they willingly give up food and then water- its like a suicide.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Arti. I can understand voluntary euthanasia. But involuntary senicide is terrible in my personal opinion.

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  2. If the oldies ae in such a pathetic condition that he/she is a burden to himself/herself, euthanasia is advisable. Otherwise a matter of pity it is

    Unique topics you bring here. Nice.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sarala. As you said, voluntary euthanasia is understandable.

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  3. Sad to learn that such things are happening.
    What is the use of education and a life that does not value lives?

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    1. Thanks for your comments Anita. I never knew this was happening in India until I saw this documentary type movie. I think the government should do something abut it.

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  4. If you didn't like the content, u cud have skipped it early, no? There are some gud movies in Prime.. The latest we watched was Kabadathari tamil movie... it's gud, watch it.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. At the beginning I did not know the story. Only after interval I knew what was happening. Thanks for your recommendation I will watch this movie Kabadathari

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  5. Cruel though it may be, I think it should be prevalent among the poorer sections where the families themselves are struggling to make both ends meet.Destitute homes are very few.This is somewhat like female infanticide. There are laws to take care of old parents but not effective.Governments and philanthropists should arrange destitute homes.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Mr. KP. I think the Government should do something about itl

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  6. I have never heard of this practice in Tamil Nadu. Mercy killing is not uncommon. What matters is why and how it's being done. If it's to reduce the suffering of someone who is in a terminally ill condition, I think that's fine. It happens even in hospitals when the life-support is quietly withdrawn, often with the tacit permission of the immediate relatives. But if it's done with ulterior motives and in a cruel manner, then of course it's bad.
    Ya, though it's illegal, since it's done so quietly it's difficult to detect and prosecute the perpetrators.

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    ReplyDelete