Even as you read this, social media is buzzing about a 13-year-old Jain girl, who died recently after fasting for 68 days in Secunderabad. There is outrage across the country, with child activists demanding severe action aga­inst her parents. There are various reports doing the rounds about Aradhana’s death, with some reports stating that the hospital gave her a ‘dead on arrival’ certificate.

One ludicrous excuse given by her parents is that she wanted to continue the fast even though they had dissuaded her from doing so.