Khan’s public disclosure about his health should be applauded as a rare moment of openness
In a social media post last week, Bollywood and indeed, global film superstar Irrfan Khan admitted to his fans and well-wishers about his medical condition. He said he had a neuroendocrine tumour, and this was after admitting a couple of weeks ago that he had a rare disease. His frankness about his medical condition, while he is still in the prime of his life, is in stark contrast to the behaviour of most public personalities today who choose to hide their health problems with Khan and previously Yuvraj Singh being notable exceptions in India. While film personalities, sports stars and politicians have the right to a private life, such openness removes all innuendo and rumour from the picture. In fact, the argument could be that with such openness at the start and with occasional updates to the public, personalities can actually enjoy a level of privacy and peace during the treatment of their medical condition. But the real problem is that of innuendo and rumour, particularly when a politician falls ill. In India, even in the very recent past, there have been clear cases of obfuscation of health details of senior politicians. Far from being secretive, constituents and the public have a right to know about the health conditions of the people who govern them. And while the same may not always be true about other personalities, being open with health problems is a good thing. This was evident when former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa passed away after a prolonged illness in Chennai. With few updates and information being tightly controlled, it led to rumours and speculation and near riot-like conditions. On the other hand, when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who fell ill, there was a huge level of openness about their health conditions. In fact, the gregariousness of the latter while in hospital made matters worse apparently. But their cases should not be exceptions, one feels that all people who govern directly or indirectly should make at least any serious health issues slightly public and not be like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and hide their conditions in plain sight because the world has changed immensely since the World War II. Movie stars and sports personalities are less public, their lives are often exposed thread-bare with their full backing in newspapers. By hiding any condition these personalities believe they are protecting their privacy and financial interests, but often find their lives a maelstrom of rumours. In the age of social media and rumours going viral in seconds with little control, going public yourself is the best course of action we feel. Our thoughts and prayers are with Khan and his family as they begin their difficult journey of treating his conditions.