Mentally ill people dubbed as 'lunatic/idiot' in PAN card applications
What's the story
Did you know the Indian government dubs mentally ill people as 'lunatic/idiot'? Well at least a screenshot of what appeared to be a PAN application says so. The image, which has gone viral on Reddit, shows the particular option when one fills the Permanent Accountant Number (PAN) application form. It's appalling to see these terms being used for official purposes.
Details
Option comes in category of DSC while filling form 49AA
The screenshot picture shows the form 49AA pertaining to PAN Card application and in the category of DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) lies the options- Minor, 'Lunatic/Idiot', and Self. Notably, the Supreme Court has its own definition of the word 'lunatic' and describes it as: "An idiot is one who is of non-sane memory from his birth, by a perpetual infirmity, without lucid intervals."
Idiot
A 'certified idiot' gets excused for criminal offenses as well
Apart from 'lunatic', Supreme Court also defines 'idiot' as someone "who cannot count 20, or can't tell the days of the week or who don't know their fathers or mothers or the like." It should be noted that if a person qualifies to be an 'idiot' in SC's definition, he/she can even be let go of a criminal offense committed by him or her.
Origin
'Lunatic' origin: Belief that moon changes have caused intermittent insanity
Lunatic in general is not a civilized word and comes from a time when people did not take mental illness seriously. The word's origin lies in Latin and was used to imply that the moon has affected someone's state of mind, in other words, mentally ill people. It was the British who widely used the word and even established a 'Lunatic Asylum' in India.