Goa, April 7 -- SIDDHARTH DESAI

"To be, or not to be"- Shakespeare's im mortal question about life and suffering resur faced recently in a definitive legal and moral context. The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgment allowing withdrawal of life support for 32-year-old Harish Rana, has reaffirmed that the right to die with dignity is an essen tial element of the right to life under Article 21 of the Con stitution. The case - which permits discontinuation of Clinically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration (CANH) along with other life-support meas ures for patients in irrevers ible conditions - marks a significant clarification in India's jurisprudence on pas sive euthanasia and end-of life care. Harish Rana suffered a catastrophic bra...