Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon 85 passed away Saturday after being comatose for eight years. He was the first prime minister of Israel to visit India. Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke in 2006 and slipped into a coma. His condition deteriorated last week after he suffered a kidney failure. A stroke occurs when a part of the brain does not receive blood supply. Brain cells of the affected region begin to die within a few minutes and often result in long-term dysfunction of the body part controlled by the affected brain area. If the damage is huge the patient