When a Veterinarian Certified a Human Death

This incident took place during the MISA Emergency in April 1976, when fear ruled the streets of Chennai.

At the end of our street in Gopalapuram lived Mani Mudaliar, a wealthy elderly bachelor. He lived with his sister's family, and his nephew, Palani, happened to be my closest friend.

My father was a man who chose his friends as carefully as people choose diamonds. He had only a handful of close friends, and Mani Mudaliar was one of them. Sadly, my father passed away before his friend did.

By April 1976, Mudaliar was old and suffering from a terminal illness. One night, sometime after midnight, he breathed his last.

The family immediately tried to call a doctor. That was easier said than done. Those were Emergency days. Because the family was known to be close to the household of the dismissed Chief Minister, many doctors politely—but firmly—declined to visit. Nobody wanted to invite unnecessary trouble.

Then Palani had a brilliant idea.

"Why not call Balu? He's only a few houses away. True, he's a veterinarian—but at least he's a doctor!"

So, in the middle of the night, I was summoned—not to examine a cow, horse, or dog, but a fellow human being!

I went over, examined Mani Mudaliar as professionally as I could, and finally made the most unusual declaration of my career:

"Mani Mudaliar is no more."

That was probably the only time in my veterinary practice that I was called upon to confirm the death of a human being. Thankfully, no one asked me to issue a death certificate!

Humorous as it may sound today, the incident reflected the climate of fear that prevailed during the Emergency. Doctors hesitated to visit a dying—or, in this case, already departed—man simply because of the family's political connections.

When the Emergency was lifted and elections were announced, this very incident found its way into election speeches. It was cited as an example of how ordinary people suffered during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi.

Looking back, I can smile at the irony of a veterinarian being asked to certify that a man had indeed left this world. But beneath the humour lies a sobering reminder of a time when fear often overruled humanity.