Finally, the death sentence of both Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru is executed. Both were hanged till death, and punished according to the law for crimes they had committed. Kasab's case was straightforward, he was caught red-handed while committing that heinous crime on the night of 26/11/2008. Afzal Guru's case was more complicated. He was arrested as a conspirator or mastermind behind the parliament attack which happened on 13 December 2001, killing seven people and five attackers. Right from 2005 when the Supreme Court upheld Afjal Guru's death sentence some sections in media and social circles have said that he didn't get a fair trial. The Supreme Court in its judgment also that the evidence against him was circumstantial and that there was no direct evidence against him about his involvement and maximum punishment had to be given to Afzal "to satisfy the collective conscience of the nation." Some regions of Jammu and Kashmir are tense, and there is a curfew imposed to tackle any unpleasant incidents that might happen in reaction to Afzal's hanging. On one side there are many articles in the media questioning the real purpose and timing behind Afzal's hanging, other the other side many support it, and both sides are passionate about their argument. In Afzal's case, his family was also not aware of his hanging when it happened and they didn't get a chance to perform his last rites, which I feel was a little unusual because in most cases the family is informed before executing the death sentence of any convict and they are allowed to perform last rites.
What is this "collective conscience" that which Supreme Court has mentioned in its judgment? Do they mean feelings of revenge, blood for blood? I am not questioning the judgment here or the judiciary process. I am sure the Supreme Court must have taken all necessary steps to ensure a fair trial. This was the first time our parliament was attacked. It's one thing when common people get attacked and die but it's dam serious when the office of legislators is under attack. No doubt it was a serious security lapse. However, this was not the first terrorist attack, and this was not the first time people got killed because of an act of terrorism. Similar or sometimes even worse incidents happened in the past. Various communal riots killed many for no reason. People got killed for some mosque, temple, or some other trivial religious issues. Most of the time these riots happened for political reasons. Many people, even some very "Big" names got accused in some of these riots and had to go to court in some cases. A committee or commission was formed to inquire about these incidents. They submitted their report, and sometimes more violence happened against some things mentioned in these reports, and then nothing really happens, no one is punished, everything goes on as if nothing happened and this has become a regular pattern in most of these types of cases. Maybe because of all this, some sections of society feel victimized or targeted. Maybe that is why some of these accused get some sympathy from some sections of society because they feel that these people fight for their rights, and try to get their voices heard. In the case of Kashmir, these things happen very often making situation more complicated day by day.
The issue of Kashmir is not that simple and it has a long history, the threat of terrorism that our country faces today is mostly because of the unsolved issue of Kashmir. I know there are no easy solutions for this problem, but at least our political leadership should work towards maintaining peace in that region and release some of the tension that has prevailed in that region for the last two decades or so. I am not here to discuss who is right or wrong as far as the issue of Kashmir is concerned, I have my own opinions about this issue but this post is not about that.
If the government wants to take a tough stand against terrorism there is nothing wrong with it, but they should be consistent in their reactions, Muslims should not feel targeted just because they are a minority. All acts of terrorism or communal riots in India are not performed only by Islamic terrorist outfits. In India, many extreme right-wing Hindu groups also engage in these types of activities and nothing seems to be happening against them. Terrorism doesn't have any religion or face so please don't try to give it one. Let's hope that our government is really serious when they say that they are going to act tough against terrorism. I hope the execution of this hanging was not just for political gain. I hope this is not the case of selective implementation of justice, and I am eagerly waiting for their next steps in this direction. Let's wait and see, only time will give answers to these questions.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)
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