Understanding the perception of dignified life in literary world and carving out right to dignified life by invoking the provisions of law through judicial interpretation is quite interesting. Central to all the human rights universally acknowledged, intrinsically important for literature and legally protected right is……..the right to life. No right can be enjoyed without this right. This right has been literally, constitutionally, jurisprudentially and judicially acknowledged & recognized as the most sacrocent right among all the rights. Rousseau expressed that everyone has a right even to risk the life in order to protect it. Locke stated that one cannot take one’s life and cannot also permit any one to deprive him of it. Thomas Hobbs also emphasized upon the same view. Now what this life is all about different stake holders have different perception of it let us examine few of them.
Life and death as the concepts have invited many thinkers’ philosophers’ writers and physicians to describe and define them. Sometimes attempts have been made to gloriously paint the pictures of both in many shades and colours. Yet others feel that one should never be concerned about uncertain death and live life embracing hedonism till death comes. If you look for the light in all situations you will find that life is beautiful thing and there is no time to dwell on negative. To live life happily all you have to do is to change your attitude change your outlook and think positive. According to Aristotle happiness is the meaning and purpose of life the whole aim and end of human existence. Good life consists in the possession over the course of life time of all those things that are really good for us. According to Aristotle we need to develop good habits and virtues which help us to obtain what is really good for us. Good habits and moral virtues are the principle means of good life. If we analyze Shakespeare’s Sonnets from 1 to 17, are called as procreation sonnets because they encourage the young man they address to marry and father children’s. In these Sonnets Shakespeare speaks several times and suggest that the child will be a copy of young man who will therefore live on through his child. Sonnet 18 Shall I Compare Thee To a Summers Day, turns away the theme of procreation and introduces new greater perspective of life in which speaker of Sonnet begins to express his own devotion to young man. In Shakespeare Hamlet we see a very contempous outlook on life from an emotional standpoint. Shakespeare says what a beautiful piece of work is man by this soliloque Shakespeare says that humans are special and unique amongst other living creatures. While humans have amazing qualities they also have terrible qualities. In yet another famous play titled Antagone written by Shakespeare highlights the importance of inalienable birth right, i.e., the right of respectful burial. In the play Antagone……. the main heroine whose brother had revolted against the king and he was put to death in public and strict orders were passed by the king regarding his burial. No one was allowed to touch his dead body as per orders of the king. Antagone who was the sister of the dead boy went against the kings order and respectfully buried her dead brother. She was arrested and brought before the king when she was asked as to why she disobeyed the kings orders she pleaded that divine immutable unwritten laws from heaven has given every one the right for respectful burial. These immutable unwritten laws are far more superior to king’s laws and the king also has to be in subjugation of these laws. In fact the respectful burial and performance of last rites as per ones faith has been held by the judiciary to be the part of dignified life internationally and nationally but haw far these inherent rights of humans are given practical wings is a question which we must pose to our conscience?
While making an analysis of the perception of life in literary world it seems that there is synthesis/marriage of this perception with judicial interpretation put on the meaning and content of life. Whether this synthesis is deliberate or innocent need not to be discussed since we can not peep in the minds to ascertain the intention. However when going through the judgments of the courts on various issues surrounding life and dignified life you will come through a plethora of the cases where the courts gave content and meaning to the right to life and personal liberty in diverse dimensions by including or craving out the version of dignified life from the simply right to life enshrined under article 21 of the Indian constitution. The interpretation which has been given to article 21 in short includes all those rights which makes life a dignified life. To talk of few it includes; right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it, namely the bare necessities of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing and shelter, opportunities to grow physically, mentally, intellectually and spiritually, these interpretations haves clothed millions of workers in factories, fields with human dignity. Again compelling wife to live with the husband whom she hates & denial of right to privacy to a woman of easy virtue amounts to denial of right to dignified life as interpreted by the judiciary.
In a recent case the court while legalizing the passive euthanasia and living wills, for humans who are terminally ill, in order to sustain & maintain the dignified life and dignified death. The court in its observations & discussion referred to the perceptions of various writers /scholars/ philosophers about life and death. In order to understand the synergy between literature and judicial interpretation Here we shall quote few of the literary works referred by the courts while deciding this case;
‘……Leon Montenaeken would like to describe life as a short, a little hoping, a little dreaming and good night. One may like to compare life with constant restless moment spend in fear of extinction of valued vapour, and another may sincerely believe that it is beyond any conceivable metaphor. A metaphysical poet like john in his inimitable manner says ….’One short sleep past we, we wake eternally, and death shall be no more, death thou shall die. The ancient Greek Philosopher Epicurus has said,
why should i fear death?
If i am then death is not.
If death is then i am not……’ The courts time and again have referred to these literary works while deciding the cases on varied issues as these literary works mostly are the reflections of society and social values of diverse dimensions and provide an implied aid in the interpretation.
From this discussion it becomes quite clear that there is strong synergy between the literary writings/ literature on the subject of life and judicial interpretation given to right to life by the courts. Because most of the literary works emerge from the society which surfaces various issue of diverse dimensions that needs to be peeped into and worked out by the governments and legislators. For example Earnest Hemingway, in his book, The Old Man and the Sea, expounds the idea that man can be destroyed but cannot be defeated, it can be said that life sans dignity is an unacceptable defeat and life that meets the death with dignity is a value to be aspired for and a moment for celebration.
Starting from right to life which at particular period of time meant food, clothing and shelter and extending this right to life to a dignified life the, journey of judicial interpretation has been marvellous. Now the right to life is not restricted to mere food, clothing and shelter but include all those right which makes a life……..a dignified life. Throughout this journey the literature consciously or unconsciously has played a very important role in this extension which becomes clear by those judgements wherein the literary works have been referred by the judges in deciding the cases. The dignified life perceived in the literary world has been given a practical shape by enactment of laws and interpretation given by the judiciary to those laws:
One can rightly conclude that,
The poetry/ drama/ novels/sonnets or any literary writings are the reflections of society/social setup/ social values /issues and human values which is carved out in these writings, while as the judicial interpretations reflect the meaning and content of law…..which is supposed to be a part of social values/ issues /human values that too are the reflections of the society thus the visible synergy between literature and judicial interpretation towards carving out a dignified life.
But how far that dignified version of life & death is practically realized…… is on our shoulders to introspect, to identify, to accept, to realize and to rise….
A word to the wise………???
*The author is Assistant professor at DDE, University of Kashmir and can be mailed at aneedajan@kashmiruniversity.ac.in
