23 November 2012, 02:09 PM IST
India is rejoicing… Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab has finally been sent to the gallows. Justice has been meted out and, as Inspector Govilkar, who captured Kasab, told rediff.com, "We have proven to the world that we are a legitimate democracy." How have we proven that, Sir? Because there are a lot of uncomfortable questions which will need to be answered if we really wish to prove that we are "a legitimate democracy". But at the risk of facing extreme criticism from fellow Indians, I'd still like to say that I do not exactly know why, but I am saddened by the incident. NO, repeat NO, I have no sympathy for Kasab (no one in his/her right mind would !!), and I fully empathise with those who lost their own in the 26/11 terrorist attacks and now feel vindicated, but somehow this "hangman's justice" fails to excite or energise me. The jubilation and celebration reeks of the mindset of a medieval lynch mob cheering the death of the sinner and not the sin. I do not know whether I am right or wrong… it's just the way I feel. I know that the hapless survivors wanted justice, and very rightly so, but then, was there really no other way to procure it? Moreover, I don't understand how his death brings justice to the 26/11 victims, because Kasab was neither the architect of 26/11 nor its strategic mastermind and the real culprits are roaming free in Pakistan, and India does not seem to have the diplomatic leverage over Pakistan to bring them to justice. All the cheering and the hurrahs is all about revenge, is it, and not so much about justice? Because, at best, Kasab's hanging is a very crude ballpark figure for justice, don't you think ?
Yes, readers of this blog post will bay for my blood, I know, but I wish somebody would help me understand why I am not exactly elated. Maybe it has something to do with my views on capital punishment…..? Maybe my schooling and upbringing had something to do with it, because I have been taught to believe that no loss of human life, however despicable the individual might have been, ought to be a reason for celebration. And as far as facts go, though India is not a signatory to the UN resolution banning the death sentence, we are still assailed by ambivalence on this subject. Those in favour of death penalty believe that it acts as a deterrent against murder. But I beg to belong to an old school of thought which wonders whether the wrong-doer could be helped to realize his mistake and make up to his victims in constructive ways—such that would benefit them as well as leave a lasting imprint on the culprit's mind so that he never makes the mistake again (remember Rajesh Khanna in the movie "Dushman" or Abhishek Bachchan in "Shararat"?) Yes, many of you may trounce me for an exaggeratedly romanticized view of things, but do you think such a thing could be possible in a remote and roseate future?
If I am sounding….or actually AM,… confused, it is because certain issues being raised are making it seem that capital punishment is more about politics than about justice ! Like, what was it that made Kasab jump the queue when convicts like Afzal Guru, the perpetrator of terror attacks on Indian Parliament in December 2001, Balwant Singh Rajaona, the convict in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and the three assassins of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi have been awaiting their executions for several years? Or, why is the timing of the hanging so suspect? Detractors of the UPA government have lost no time in pointing out that this was a strategic move to neutralize multiple challenges facing Congress—upcoming Gujarat polls under Hindutva mascot Narendra Modi, Parliament session starting on Thursday and the fourth anniversary of Mumbai attacks just days away. It is hoped that the execution will create a positive buzz about the Delhi regime that has to rectify the negatives plaguing it for a big part of UPA-2. Of course, the ruling party and the government strongly contested such motives, arguing that any date to execute the hated hitman would have led to similar conclusions. But these are debatable matters and pertain to politics which, to me at least, is as incomprehensible as rocket science.
Please tell me, then, is Kasab's hanging an occasion for unmitigated joy or are there some shades of grey, unexplained emotions which may be brought under the scanner?
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