Self-starvation case shows gaps in Indian welfare

A grim case of two adult sisters who locked themselves away at home on a starvation diet has thrown a spotlight on what can happen when traditional Indian family support networks break down. Police on Tuesday broke into the apartment of Anuradha and Sonali Bahal in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, to find Anuradha in a coma and her sister critically ill. The two sisters, both unmarried, well-educated professionals in their mid-40s, were hospitalised suffering from acute starvation and dehydration. Anuradha died on Wednesday.



Police cited neighbours as saying the women had become disturbed following the successive deaths of both parents several years ago, followed by the recent departure of their only brother from the family home after he married. After the death seven months ago of their one remaining companion, the family dog, the sisters locked themselves in their apartment and cut off all contact with the outside world.

Doctors said they appeared to have barely eaten during the period of self-confinement and displayed multiple symptoms of starvation and nutritional deficiency. The police were finally called by concerned neighbours who were unable to raise any response from inside the locked apartment. In the absence of a strong, state-run social security network in India, people are often wholly dependent on close family members when it comes to issues of personal welfare.


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Rapid urbanisation has undermined the traditional unit of the "joint family" - leaving individuals to deal with problems and stress alone. "These two women were clearly lonely and depressed. Their entire support system had collapsed and maybe all this went unnoticed by relatives and friends," said Rekha Jha, a social science professor at Delhi University. "There is no real backup plan where the government steps in to provide social security," Jha said.