"To kill or not to kill?"

Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide these are terms used to help define the term Mercy Killing. It is to help a person suffering from a painful incurable illness to commit suicide. Recently the concept of mercy killing was used in Kyunki……wherein Tulsi kills Savita in the show as she cannot bare to see her mother-in-law suffer endlessly. Cut to real life and it is a tough act to kill a dear one to relieve the person from the pain. We asked some television actors about this concept which is not yet legalised in India.
They talk to Kavita Shyam

Sudha Chandran-

Yes, Mercy Killing should be allowed in real life. If someone is suffering you can't bear to see them suffer, it is a very difficult situation. And mercy killing seems to be the only respite however in India we should become more broad minded about this. Sadly we are stuck up with the guilt feeling about mercy killing. Fortunately I did not have to indulge myself into this kind of killing but my mother was suffering from cancer and it was painful to see my own people suffering. Thankfully it didn't reach that stage where we had to go in for anything like this and we tried our best to provide her a support system. But 100 percent I would have gone for it if given an opportunity besides it's selfish to hold up someone's life for one's own selfish reasons. It is not murder but giving Moksha to a person according to me.

Apara Mehta-
My entire track in Kyunki….made me think seriously about this issue. When such a thing goes on in somebody else's life we as an outsider think that the world should

be practical about it. We don't understand how draining it is physically and financially. Personally I wouldn't be able to do it, it's a tough decision. However much we think practically on mercy killing, when it comes to our family members we get shattered. We want to keep the person alive as much as possible but ending the persons life is not the only solution, the person could be treated medically as much possible.
I firmly believe that one doesn't have the right to take decisions for somebody else's life. I don't know if it should be legalized it could be disastrous as in old people who are badly treated can be killed under the cover of mercy killing for property and other such selfish pursuits. There has to be a proper law for it if it has to be in legalised India. It is difficult to put your pets to sleep imagine how difficult it would be to do so to your dear ones. In Kyunki….Savita asks for mercy killing so it is different if the person asks for the same and the family taking a decision.

Shweta Keswani-

I totally agree with mercy killing. If a person has an ailment and it is not curable and he himself cannot end his life that is when somebody else executes it for him. The person would die anyways so by mercy killing it's definitely lesser pain for the person who is not capable of doing it himself. The pain and grief is unsurpassable, in fact I'd die everyday seeing the person suffer so much. But this would have to be done in a dire stage. My friend was in coma for a week, o he was put in a respirator for the whole week and we'd all pray for him endlessly. The doctors had given up hopes and he'd become a vegetable and sadly his heart beat stopped so the doctors pull off the respirator. I get goose bumps when I think about it.


Gaurav Chanana-
I completely agree with it. It is torturous to see someone you love to go through the

suffering. If the person concerned and the family agree to it they have a right to kill. For the others it may seem like a joke or just a matter to make headlines. It's a tough decision no doubt but it should be legalized in India besides which law is not misused.
According to me it is neither a murder nor a moksh. One can have the right to live or die instead of being tormented.


Samir Soni-
It depends on individual case to case as mercy killing can be abused. If a person

is suffering from an incurable ailment and in his proper senses he accepts it then the person concerned should be entitled to it with the family's consent. There is no blanket rule to govern all such issues. For instance when my dog was suffering the doctors asked me to him to sleep. I prayed hard but fortunately he did recover and survived. If it is to be legalized in India then the case should be taken to the courts and then it should be taken ahead. If the brain is dead and the person is kept in an artificial respirator then the person concerned becomes a mere vegetable which may turn into a burden for the family. It could be moksha if has the approval of the loved ones else it is suicide or murder.